The Ocean Project was first declared in 1992 as part of a United Nations initiative following the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro—also known as the Earth Summit—which set in motion key climate change goals.
In 2008, 8 June was officially designated as World Oceans Day, with a new theme introduced each year.
The ocean covers the majority of the Earth’s surface, yet only a small portion of its waters has been explored. Despite humanity’s deep dependence on it, the ocean receives only a fraction of our attention and resources compared to the vast benefits it provides.
Ocean – “If we save the sea, we save our world” ~ David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough is launching what he says is one of the most important films of his career as he enters his hundredth year.
He believes his new, cinema-length film Ocean could play a decisive role in saving biodiversity and protecting the planet from climate change. You can watch the trailer here 👇
Sir David, who was 99 on 8 May, 2025, says: “After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.”
The ocean is the planet’s support system and humanity’s greatest ally against climate catastrophe, the film argues. It shows how the world’s oceans are at a crossroads.
The film documents how the state of the world’s oceans and our understanding of how they function have changed in the course of Sir David’s lifetime.
Sir David says the state of the ocean has almost made him lose hope for the future of life on the planet. What has kept him from despair is what he calls the “most remarkable discovery of all” – that the ocean can “recover faster than we had ever imagined”.
Sir David’s key message in the Ocean film is that all is not lost. Countries have promised to protect a third of the world’s oceans. He hopes his new film will spur leaders to take firm action on this promise at a UN conference next month.
He believes that could be transformational.
“The ocean can bounce back to life,” Sir David says. “If left alone it may not just recover but thrive beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.”
Read the full article from the BBC here: Attenborough at 99 delivers ‘greatest message he’s ever told‘
Ocean is in selected cinemas across the country now and will be available globally on National Geographic, Disney+ and Hulu from June 8.
Sources: BBC/worldoceanday.org
