Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Life Below Water focuses on protecting our ocean. The ocean is not only a home for countless creatures but also a vital part of our planet's health, giving us food, oxygen, and even helping to regulate the climate. However, the ocean is facing big problems like marine pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction. This goal is about working together to keep the ocean healthy and safe for all life.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Life Below Water focuses on protecting our ocean. The ocean is not only a home for countless creatures but also a vital part of our planet's health, giving us food, oxygen, and even helping to regulate the climate. However, the ocean is facing big problems like marine pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction. This goal is about working together to keep the ocean healthy and safe for all life.
Introduction to Goal 14
A curriculum designed for Goal 14 that inspires the values and competencies behind this mission for grades 5-12.
Featured Lesson: Creative Writing
Beyond the Blue: Writing for our Oceans
Dive into Goal 14 through the lens of creative writing. This lesson provides hands-on activities and creative exploration designed to bring the concepts to life for students.
Lessons
Art Exploration
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through art.
Ocean Story: A Watercolor Adventure
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through art.
Beyond the Blue: Writing for our Oceans
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through creative writing.
Ocean in Motion: Interpretive Dance for Life Below Water
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through dance/movement.
Mime for Marine Life
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through drama.
ART EXPLORATION
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through art.
Ocean's Call: Jingles for a Healthy Sea
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through music.
Ocean’s Call: Jingles for a Healthy Sea
Explore Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development through music.
These learning objectives are organized into five categories that together form a comprehensive approach to understanding and engaging with this goal.
Knowledge
- •
Identify and define the importance of the oceans as a home for marine life, a source of food, and a key part of the planet's health.
(Cr1.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Recognize the major threats to the ocean, such as marine pollution (e.g., plastic, trash), overfishing, and habitat destruction.
(Cn10.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Understand that our actions on land can affect the ocean, and that everyone has a role to play in protecting it.
(Cn10.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS)
Discourse
- •
Explore and describe how messages and ideas about the ocean and its health are expressed through various art forms (visual art, creative writing, dance, drama, music) by reflecting on visuals, words, movement, sounds, and stories.
(Re7.1.MS, Re8.1.MS) - •
Participate in respectful discussions about ocean challenges and solutions, considering how human actions and choices impact marine life.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Communicate their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas about Global Goal 14: Life Below Water through creative expression in various artistic mediums.
(Cr3.1.MS)
Attitudes
- •
Develop a sense of wonder and appreciation for the beauty and biodiversity of the oceans and marine ecosystems.
(Re8.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Cultivate a strong sense of personal and collective responsibility for the health of the oceans, recognizing their interconnectedness with all life on Earth.
(Cn11.1.MS) - •
Foster a proactive and ethical approach to ocean conservation, recognizing that even small actions can have a positive impact.
(Re9.1.MS)
Capacity
- •
Develop critical thinking skills by observing and discussing how different artistic elements can represent ocean challenges and solutions.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn10.1.MS) - •
Practice collaboration and communication skills through engaging in group art projects, shared writing activities, and coordinated movement, drama, or musical performances to tell stories about the ocean.
(Cr2.1.MS, Pr5.1.MS) - •
Develop creative expression skills through purposeful experimentation with diverse artistic mediums (visual art, creative writing, dance, drama, music) to communicate their understandings and feelings about Life Below Water.
(Cr3.1.MS)
Action
- •
Identify simple and age-appropriate actions they can take to reduce their personal impact on the ocean (e.g., proper waste disposal, reducing plastic use) and promote ocean-friendly practices in their daily lives.
(Pr6.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS) - •
Participate in collaborative artistic projects that creatively express messages of hope and support for ocean conservation.
(Cr3.1.MS, Pr6.1.MS) - •
Reflect on their personal role in contributing to a healthier ocean and a more sustainable planet, fostering a sense of responsible global citizenship.
(Re9.1.MS, Cn11.1.MS)
Empowering youth to become active agents of change in conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. Recognizing that even small, consistent actions, sparked by their creative explorations, can contribute to a larger global impact.
Taking Action Beyond the Classroom
Here are ways your students can extend their learning and apply their understanding of Global Goal 14 in their wider community and beyond.
Become Ocean Storytellers: Choose a favorite piece created in the lessons, and share with family, friends, or local community groups (like a neighborhood association or community group). This allows them to use their art to tell a powerful story about why a healthy ocean matters for everyone.
Concrete Action: Aim to share their creative work related to Global Goal 14 with at least three people outside of school.
Trash Tracker & Art Project: Become Trash Trackers for a week by safely tracking the types of trash found around neighborhoods, schools, and homes. At the end of the week, use the findings to create an art piece or write a short paragraph about the discovery and its connection to Global Goal 14.
Concrete Action: Students track a type of waste they encounter for a week and create a visual or written piece about it and its connection to Global Goal 14.
Awareness Jingle: Refine one jingle about ocean conservation from the activity, then teach it to family, friends, younger siblings, or even record a performance of it to share (with parent permission).
Concrete Action: Students create and teach an Ocean's Call jingle to at least two people outside of the classroom.
Research an Ocean Champion: Research a real person (from history or today) who has made a significant positive impact on ocean conservation. This could be a marine biologist, a scuba diver who cleans reefs, an activist, or an inventor. Write a short paragraph, create a drawing, or prepare a brief presentation about this Ocean Champion, explaining how their actions connect to Global Goal 14. This helps to see real-world examples of impact and positive change.
Concrete Action: Students research and present one Ocean Champion to share with family or the class.
Benchmarking Progress
A quick view of the official UN targets for this goal paired with the indicators that track global progress. Use these to connect classroom inquiry with real-world data.
Target 14.1
By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
Indicators
- 14.1.1
(a) Index of coastal eutrophication; and (b) plastic debris density.
Target 14.2
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
Indicators
- 14.2.1
Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas.
Target 14.3
Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels.
Indicators
- 14.3.1
Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of representative sampling stations.
Target 14.4
By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics.
Indicators
- 14.4.1
Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels.
Target 14.5
By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.
Indicators
- 14.5.1
Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas.
Target 14.6
By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation.
Indicators
- 14.6.1
Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Target 14.7
By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.
Indicators
- 14.7.1
Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries.
Target 14.a
Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries.
Indicators
- 14.a.1
Proportion of total research budget allocated to research in the field of marine technology.
Target 14.b
Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.
Indicators
- 14.b.1
Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small-scale fisheries.
Target 14.c
Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in the paragraph 158 of "The future we want."
Indicators
- 14.c.1
Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting, and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources.