Women are engaged in all aspects of interaction with our ocean, yet their voices are often missing at the decision-making level, the head of the United Nations cultural agency said on World Oceans Day, emphasizing that “we must ensure diversity and gender inclusiveness at all levels” to set a balanced course for humanity and foster innovative solutions for the ocean.

A trial run of an innovative system designed to clean up the world’s seas and oceans, founded by UN Environment Programme (UNEP)  “Champion of the Earth” laureate Boyan Slat, has set off from San Francisco, in a bid to begin the removal of the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

From carrying your own water bottle, to volunteering for a local clean-up, everybody needs to do something to stop plastic pollution from getting into the world’s oceans, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for World Oceans Day.