The Second World Ocean Assessment
United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
Abstract
The second World Ocean Assessment is a collaborative effort of hundreds of experts from all regions of the world, a comprehensive and integrated assessment of the state of marine environment. It is the product of the second cycle of the Regular Process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects (Regular Process) established after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development to regularly review the environmental, economic and social aspects of the world’s oceans, both current and foreseeable. Its purpose is to strengthen the regular scientific assessment of the state of the marine environment in order to enhance the scientific basis for policymaking and thus contribute to the sustainable management of human activities that affect the oceans and seas.