The Ocean covers 70 per cent of the Earth. It is our premier source of life amid the hostile vastness of space, supporting every living creative ‒ man, beast and vegetation. Apart from being home to the majority of earthʼs biodiversity, it also produces at least 50 per cent of the planetʼs oxygen.
Hence, on 8 June 2021, Blancpain is proud to stand beside other global leaders as presenting partner for the 2021 edition of the annual United Nations World Oceans Day ‒ hosted by Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) and produced in partnership with Oceanic Global.
With an estimated 40 million people employed by ocean-based industries by 2030, it is clear that the ocean is not merely a source of sustenance, but also an economic lifeline for the communities that depend on it. To be sure, the ocean was one of the first things that connected the human race via shipping routes.
Raising Awareness
The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods This June, World Oceans Day 2021 will focus on commercial processes involving local communities that depend on the ocean for their livelihood. With 90 per cent of big fish populations now depleted, and 50 per cent of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished.
Blancpain has been keenly aware of the ramifications of commercial activity on the oceanʼs health.
This has motivated its numerous marine exploration and preservation projects, all conducted as part of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment. The watch brand’s dedication to saving our planetʼs primary resource extends to media efforts to raise awareness to our collective responsibility as stewards of the ocean.
For World Oceans Day 2013, the brand organised the exhibition “Oceans” at the United Nations headquarters in New York, presenting underwater pictures taken from its series of Edition Fifty Fathoms publications, as well as from the Pristine Seas and Gombessa expeditions, both supported by Blancpain as founding partner.
Following the success of the event, the United Nations established an underwater photo competition the subsequent year, making it a cornerstone of World Oceans Day since 2015.
Synergy With The Seas
The links between Blancpain and the ocean in fact date back to 1953, when the Brand presented the first modern diverʼs watch, the Fifty Fathoms. Since then, ocean exploration and conservation have been core to Blancpainʼs philosophy.
With its almost 70-year legacy of the Fifty Fathoms, the timepiece not only embodies Blancpainʼs passion for the underwater world but is also emblematic its close ties with the explorers, photographers, marine scientists, and environmentalists who treasure our precious underwater universe.
To protect and preserve the ocean and all it sustains, we must understand the ocean and its importance to humanityʼs survival. Through the adventures of these intrepid divers enabled by Blancpain, we are starting to discover a connection to the ocean that is inclusive and informed by lessons from the past.
To date, Blancpain Ocean Commitment has achieved tangible results, notably contributing to the coverage of marine protected areas around the world, with the addition of more than four million square kilometres.
“The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods” is the theme for World Oceans Day 2021, as well as a declaration of intentions that launches a decade of challenges to get the Sustainable Development Goal 14 ‒ “to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources” ‒ by 2030.
(Images: Blancpain)
