14. Life below water

SDG 14. Life below water

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Targets*

14.1 Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from landbased activities
14.2 Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems and take action for their restoration
14.3 Minimise and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
14.4 Effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans
14.5 Conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
14.6 Prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies
14.7 Increase the economic benefits to small island developing states and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources

Key insights

• The average proportion of marine key biodiversity areas covered by protected areas is less than one-third in Malaysia and Indonesia, less than one-fourth in Cambodia, less than one-fifth in Myanmar and only 1 in 33 in Singapore.¹

Business actions**

1. Implement policies and practices to protect ocean ecosystems that are affected by business and supply chain activities
2. Research, develop, and deploy products, services, and business models which negate impacts on ocean ecosystems and contribute to their restoration
3. Galvanise finance for the protection and further development of ocean ecosystems and water system flows
4. Design and implement solutions to accurately value and respect natural capital, and drive wider adoption of these solutions

Example

• A German sports apparel company partnered with an environmental NGO to source ocean plastic to be used in the manufacturing of its products, which resulted in the launch of several profitable product lines and the commitment to use only recycled plastic for its products by 2024.²
• An American carpet manufacturer encourages the collection and safe disposal of fishing nets in the Philippines through purchasing used fishing nets from locals and selling them to the firm’s yarn supplier and partner.³

Thought Leadership

The price tag of plastic pollution: An economic assessment of river plastic

Find out about how mismanagement of plastic waste can lead to major consequences for local economies.

* All targets for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Statistics Division (2018), from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/
** All business actions for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Global Compact (2017), from: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5461
1 Asian Development Bank (2018), from: https://www.adb.org/publications/key-indicators-aia-and-pacific-2018
2 Rosane (2018), from: https://www.ecowatch.com/adidas-recycled-plastics-2587520180.html
3 Interface (NA), from: https://www.interface.com/US/en-US/about/modular-carpet-tile/Net-Effect