Oceans shape our climate and weather patterns

The lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe, the oceans are also a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere. The concept of a 'World Oceans Day' was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro as a way to celebrate our world’s shared ocean and our personal connection to the sea, as well as to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives and the important ways people can help protect it.

The UN General Assembly recognised the important contribution of sustainable development and management of the resources and uses of the oceans and seas to the achievement of international development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and designated 8 June as World Oceans Day.

This year, World Oceans Day celebrations are part of a week-long conference in New York at UNHQ (5-9 June). The Ocean Conference, which is being kick-started by World Environment Day, follows the theme "our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14".

The Ocean Conference calls for the engagement of all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organisations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, civil society, mayors, children, youth and others who will utilise this momentum to galvanise action-oriented partnerships at all levels – local, national and global - that provide lasting and long term solutions.

Tanzania's lakes provide the country's residents with transportation, food, and abundant water supplies for irrigation use. With a surface area of 62,940 square kilometers (24,300 square miles), Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake on the globe. It is located in the north of Tanzania and is also shared by Uganda and Kenya. About half of the lake is situated within Tanzania. Lake Victoria is a major source for the Nile River. 

Along the western border of Tanzania, Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-deepest lake, has a precipitous shoreline and a few poor harbors. Found in the south, Lake Nyasa also has poor harbors. To the east of Lake Tanganyika, Lake Rukwa is small and shallow and tends to be brackish (containing both salt water and fresh water). Several small lakes in the northern part of the country also have salty water. Lake Natron is commercially exploited for salt and soda. Other lakes in the Eastern Great Rift Valley include Lake Eyasi and Lake Manyara. 

Tanzania's lakes and swamps cover nearly 6 percent of the total land surface, not counting seasonally inundated flood plains and riverine marshes. The Sagara Swamp, which forms most of western Tanzania, is a huge flood-plain with an area of 16,614 square kilometers (6,415 square miles). It includes the Moyowosi Game Reserve and is home to many species of wildlife.