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The UN chief urged countries to make sure they invest the funds necessary to prevent and manage disasters, in a solemn message of remembrance on Wednesday for the 18,400 people who died or are unaccounted for, due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan exactly ten years ago.

The Caribbean States and adjacent regions participated on 11 March in their annual tsunami preparedness exercise, set up under the aegis of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), as they commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake in Japan, which caused a deadly and devastating surge on the north-eastern coast of the island of Honshu, leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The countries bordering the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and adjacent seas were prepared from 8 to 10 March to a tsunami preparedness exercise, set up under the aegis of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO). The exercise marks the 10th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake in Japan, which caused a deadly and devastating surge on the north-eastern coast of the island of Honshu, leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

There is only one ocean and its preservation is essential to the survival of humanity; this is the message that UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) would like to convey in an exclusive exhibition by photographer Alexis Rosenfeld, from 4 March 4 to 30 April in Paris Gare de Lyon, in partnership with SNCF Gares & Connexions. A virtual tour of this event is available online through the following link: www.1ocean.blue.

Between 12 -14 January 2021 the 2021 Meeting (Pre-committee) of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Management Group took place online. 32 participants attended the event and reviewed progress of the IODE-XXV work plan, agreed on the agenda for the upcoming IODE-XXVI Committee meeting in April 2021 (online) and discussed the arrangements for the preparation of the First International Ocean Data Conference (Poland, November 2021).

Discover the first report focusing on blue carbon assets across the UNESCO Marine World Heritage sites, revealing their outsized role as custodians of globally relevant blue carbon resources, including the largest areas of seagrass and mangroves in the ocean.

On the occasion of World Radio Day (February 13), celebrated this year with the theme “New World, New Radio – Evolution, Innovation, Connection”, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) reveals six podcasts to explore and learn about the marine world. Through exclusive interviews, international experts are joining voices to share their knowledge and raise awareness about ocean conservation.

UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) kicked off the start of the Ocean Decade (2021-2030) with ‘A Brave New Ocean’, a virtual event that brought together ocean experts and leaders from around the world to highlight the immense challenges and opportunities that ocean knowledge can offer humanity to build a better and stronger post-pandemic world.

Less than twenty per cent of the world’s oceans have been explored so far. That is not a lot. But it is enough for us to know that the oceans are threatened by global warming, acidification, and pollution. Coral bleaching is just one illustration of the decline of marine ecosystems. The consequences are not just environmental. Nearly three billion people depend directly on marine and coastal biodiversity for their survival. By 2050, coastal areas that are home to300 million people could be threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change.