Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ is a global academic hub for the Sustainable Development Goals, which form a key cross-cutting theme of its The Empowerment University strategic plan.
Our 2024 report on all 17 SDGs will show what work the university has been doing through research and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
Our reports start with the United Nations’ verdict on progress from their 2024 report on SDG 14 Life Below Water.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 14
A total of 40% of the targets set for this SDG have regressed from the 2015 baseline and a further 30% of the targets have only made minimal progress. Only 10% of the targets set to be achieved by 2030 are on schedule to be achieved, while a further 20% show moderate progress.
The UN report states: “Efforts to address the mounting concerns remain uneven. Key actions include implementing sustainable fishing practices, expanding marine protected areas to safeguard key biodiversity areas, increasing capacities to monitor ocean health and addressing the pollution that is choking waterways. Comprehensive global action is under way, yet it must accelerate.
Priorities include ensuring that the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies enters into force as soon as possible; increasing participation in the Agreement on Port State Measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; adopting a global plastic pollution instrument; and ensuring that the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction enters into force as soon as possible to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of oceans.”
Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ NEWS ON SDG 14 in 2024
Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ students join forces to tackle litter in and around the city's waterways
STUDENTS from Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ have helped fill 35 bags worth of rubbish from around a local river to help clean up the city’s waterways.
A group of volunteers from the university helped clear piles of waste from the banks of the River Soar, including shopping trolleys, a bike, a grandfather clock and car keys.
More than 20 students joined forces with Leicester City Council and the Canal and River Trust for the annual litter pick, timed to coincide with the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ RESEARCH ON SDG 14 in 2024
Oil spill classification using an autoencoder and hyperspectral technology
(Maria Gema Carrasco-Garcia et al)
Hyperspectral technology has been playing a leading role in monitoring oil spills in marine environments, an issue of international concern. In the case of monitoring oil spills in local areas, hyperspectral technology of small dimensions becomes the ideal solution.
This research explores the use of encoded hyperspectral signatures to develop automated classifiers capable of discriminating between polluted and clean water, and even distinguishing between various types of oil.
Sociocultural valuation of human impacts on marine ecosystems: The case of the National Marine Park of Alonissos in Greece
(Maren Myrto Brodersen et al)
In the present study, we combine a choice experiment for the valuation of related ecosystem services with the Cumulative Impact Assessment method, to estimate the value of human impacts on three conservation priority habitats (the seagrass meadows, the gorgonian forests and the coralligenous reefs) of the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades in Greece.
The results indicate significant values and thus raise flags for more effective decisions related to environmental policies, such as the Programmes of Measures under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
Sustainable Environmental Monitoring: Multistage Fusion Algorithm for Remotely Sensed Underwater Super-Resolution Image Enhancement and Classification
(Wad Ghaban)
Oceans and seas cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface. If compared with the land mass there are a lot of unexplored locations, a wealth of natural resources, and diverse ocean creatures that are inaccessible to us humans. Underwater rovers and vehicles play a vital role in discovering these resources, yet limited visibility in deep waters and technological constraints impede underwater exploration
To address these issues, advanced image super-resolution and enhancement techniques are crucial for reliable resource identification, species recognition, and underwater ecosystem study. This will ultimately bridge the current gap in environmental monitoring by facilitating resource tracking and underwater waste assessment.
The effectiveness of the proposed super-resolution technique is demonstrated using multiple performance metrics including accuracy, f1-score, recall, and precision. By enhancing the spatial resolution of underwater images, our approach meets the increasing demand for detailed and accurate information in underwater earth observation applications.
Read the full Sustainable Development Goals 2024 report on all the SDGs here
SDG 14 Life Below Water