A perspective of the oceans from Uruguay and Portugal

The oceans regulate our climate; they are our global climate control system: they absorb heat and transport warm water from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles to the tropics. Without these currents, the climate would be extreme in some regions. They are also a major food source.

The Blue Talks cycle is an initiative of Portugal, host of the next United Nations Ocean Conference(link is external)(Lisbon, 27th June to 1st July, 2022), through its diplomatic network, in cooperation with partners at country levels, that are taking part in the months preceeding the Conference.

This exchange is being carried out in different countries to give visibility to the themes of the Conference, address different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities posed by the oceans and the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14(link is external).

The Embassy of Portugal in Uruguay together with the UNESCO Office in Montevideo, in cooperation with UNEP, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, coordinated efforts to carry out the event: "Oceans: Crossed perspectives between Uruguay and Portugal" that took place last Monday, 30th May at the Headquarters of UNESCO Regional Office for Science (Edificio MERCOSUR) counting on the participation of distinguished Uruguayan and international professionals in the aera. See the agenda.

UNESCO was part of this initiative both from the approach of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) that works jointly with Member States to protect shared oceans health by promoting research and dissemination of scientific knowledge, and through public education in order to understand the environmental changes occurring in this important source of water; and of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme focused on contributing to achieve water security through holistic hydrological research and freshwater knowledge development.