Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

It’s hard to believe we have already made it through 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals! #TheSDGVizProject has now had 50 different participants contributing over 160 data visualizations to help measure and spread awareness of the Goals. That is a huge accomplishment and we can’t thank you enough. And a huge thank you to the 5 participants who have contributed to all 15 Goals; Kamegaki Hiroyoshi , JUN Yamazaki, Satoshi Ganeko, Takafumi Shakuya, and Yasushi Ishikawa!

We decided to combine the wrap-up posts for Goals 14 & 15 since they are so similar in nature. Check out all of the Goal 14 and Goal 15 submissions in our Viz Gallery!

Goal 14 Submissions:

           

       

Goal 15 Submissions:

           

          

 

What we learned from the submissions:

  • Oceans cover 3/4 of the Earth’s surface, contain 97% of the world’s water, and represent 99% of the world’s living space (by volume)
  • The percentage of waters under jurisdiction (within 200 nautical miles from shore) that are under protection has increased dramatically over the last 20 years, from just 2% in 2000 to nearly 17% in 2019. The target is for each country to protect 10%, but only 55 of 191 countries are currently meeting that goal
  • As of 2019, less than half of Marine Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA’s) are covered under protected areas. In some regions, like Europe and North America, over 65% are covered, while others, like Oceania, Northern Africa, and Western Asia, less than 25% are covered
  • Each year, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into our oceans. Roughly 45% of this pollution comes from just 5 rivers; Yangtze (23.7%), Ganges (8.2%), Xi (2.9%), Huanpu (2.8%), and Cross (2.7%)
  • Oceans absorb roughly 90% of excess heat in the climate system, as well as 23% of CO2 emissions
  • The proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels has reduced from 73% to 66% from 2000 to 2017
  • 17.8% of forests worldwide are located within protected areas. Between 2010 and 2020 the average deforestation rate has been -.12%. Brazil has lost nearly 55,000 hectares of forest in the last 20 years
  • 5 countries have protected 100% of their mountain KBAs (Niger, Guadaloupe, Togo, Equitorial Guinea, and Burkina Faso), 1 country has protected 100% of their terrestial KBAs (Equitorial Guinea), and 3 countries have protected 100% of their freshwater KBAs (Martinique, Mayotte, and Seychelles)
  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the extinction risk of over 130,000 plant, animal, and fungi species. They have identified 900 species that have gone extinct, and another roughly 40,000 that are threatened (classified as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered)
  • The worldwide Red List Index, which measures the overall extinction risk (1 meaning no species are expected to go extinct, 0 meaning all species are likely to go extinct) was .73 in 2020, and has been steadily decreasing each year.

How can we help to protect life on land and below water?

  • Avoid single use plastic products as much as possible, and make sure to recycle those that you do use
  • Eat local, sustainable food whenever possible
  • Volunteer for local clean-up activities
  • Set all of your account preferences to go paperless, and recycle all used paper
  • Eat less meat, and eat seasonal produce as much as possible
  • Buy recycled products
  • Limit your waste as much as possible. Buy only what you intend to consume, donate or recycle unused items, compost your food waste, and purchase recycled items whenever it’s an option
  • In addition to these, all of the activities highlighted in our Goal 13 Recap can help to protect our environment and the plant and animals that dwell in it. Check out that post for more information

Thank you for another great month, and keep an eye on our blog for the May Goal Announcement!

By : SDG Viz Project