Finance For Ocean Health Is The Need Of The Hour

The issue of plastics has brought the health of the world’s oceans to the forefront. The world’s oceans are under attack, with about 8 million tons of plastic waste finding its way into the oceans every year. This has brought a lot of unprecedented attention to ocean health, not only on social media but also at higher levels of government organizations. In fact, Norway has committed 1.6 billion Norwegian Krone ($183.5 million) to address marine litter and microplastics between now and 2022.

Last month, the World Bank launched a sustainable development bond to address the issue of plastic waste polluting the oceans. At their recent meeting, the Asian Development Bank also committed to expanding financing for healthy oceans up to $5 billion for 2019-2024 under a new action plan on healthy oceans and sustainable blue economies. The two-thirds of the planet is finally getting the desperate attention it deserves and such large investments add to the growing attention the international community is paying to ocean health and the wider blue economy.

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