First U.N. World Ocean Assessment Available

The first World Ocean Assessment (WOA) is now available for review until 6 February 2015 at review.globalchange.gov.

As reported by the World Ocean Council (WOC) in 2013, the inaugural U.N. WOA is the first of a regular process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects.

The WOA includes more than fifty subjects grouped within four main themes:
? Marine environment and understanding the ocean’s role in the global integrated Earth system
? Food security and food safety
? Marine biological diversity
? Human activities that influence the ocean or are influenced by the ocean

The WOA review is open to the international community. Members of the international community are welcomed and encouraged to review and submit comments. It is important for the WOA to include input from the ocean business community, especially in relation to the assessment themes on human activities, says WOC.