At the Conference on the Oceans of the United Nations (UN), the Sectoral Vice President for Social and Territorial Socialism, Mervin Maldonado, stressed that “Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to leave no one behind, to eradicate poverty in all its dimensions and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From the city of Lisbon, in Portugal, he called on the international community to renew its commitment and cooperate at the global, regional and subregional levels to achieve all the established objectives as soon as possible and without undue delay.
“For Venezuela, this commitment represents a double challenge, because in addition to those that we all face in the implementation of the SDGs, such as the covid-19 pandemic, the Venezuelan people face the effects generated by the illegal application of a commercial, economic blockade and financial by the United States,” Maldonado emphasized.
In addition, he explained that the entire Venezuelan territory is made up of more than 500 thousand square kilometers of water surface, so that the seas and oceans represent a primordial area in the areas of social, economic and environmental development for the Venezuelan people.
“They are a vital part and of a strategic nature that directly determine our development, food, biodiversity, tourism activity and in many other areas for the comprehensive development of the Nation,” said the Sector Vice President.
He added that for this reason, Venezuela has complied with its international obligations in the conservation of the seas, and it is a matter of priority attention for the Venezuelan State.
Finally, he pointed out, as an example of conservation of marine species, that the Venezuelan Fisheries Law prohibits trawling and establishes sanctions for non-compliance with conservation and management measures, provided in its regulations.
The Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, comes at a critical time when the world is reinforcing its efforts to mobilize, create and promote solutions to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
As part of the early stages of the recently launched Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the Conference will promote a series of innovative, science-based, much-needed solutions, with the aim of starting a new chapter in global action for the oceans.
