DEHUKAM - Sustainable Development Goals
“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning oppurtuniities for all”.
The fourth goal within the SDGs is to commit to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels: early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary, technical and vocational education. All people, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity and disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrants, children and youth, especially those in vulnerable situations, should have access to lifelong learning opportunities that help them acquire the knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of opportunities and participate fully in society.
Many countries face challenges such as inadequate education infrastructure, teacher shortages and insufficient teacher training. While technology has expanded educational opportunities, it has also widened inequalities, leaving millions of people, especially in marginalized and low-income communities, without access to education. DEHUKAM contributes to inclusive and high-quality education through the academies and workshops emphasizing the role of people in maritime strategy.
“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.
As billions of people do not enjoy the human right of access to clean water and sanitation, this goal is presented to ensure accessibility and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene still out of reach for billions in 2022. According to the statics, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, 2.2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water, 3.5 billion people lacked safely managed sanitation, 2.2 billion people lacked basic hand washing facilities, and %81 of species dependent on inland wetlands have declined since 1970.
DEHUKAM contributes to multiple projects, particularly in the areas of improving water quality, wastewater management and safe reuse, and promoting local participation in water and sanitation management. Within these projects, solutions such as coordinated global action on water management, addressing the impacts of climate change on water resources and better management of shared waters are addressed with DEHUKAM’s contributions.
“Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
In 2022, global electricity access declined for the first time in a decade, mainly due to disruptions from COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict. Despite improvements in energy intensity and renewable energy growth, international financial flows for clean energy in developing countries remain insufficient. At the current rate, 660 million people will still lack electricity by 2030 and 1.8 billion people will not have access to clean cooking.
The maritime sector and the DEHUKAM have an important role to play in realizing SDG 7, particularly on energy efficiency. Through its programs, DEHUKAM highlights the importance of accelerating electrification efforts, increasing investments in renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and establishing supportive policies and regulatory frameworks to ensure universal access to energy by 2030.
Some of DEHUKAM’s projects are related to international regulations governing the transportation of oil and gas by sea and identifying initiatives to promote energy-efficient maritime transport. Promoting the implementation of the various regulations in this context will support this specific SDG.
Energy management is a key tool for energy efficient and environmentally friendly maritime transportation that increases profitability. DEHUKAM will support the development of the field of maritime energy management education and research focusing on low carbon shipping, energy efficiency and renewable ocean energy sources.
“Promoting stable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.
Concern for seafarers’ welfare is evident in the ongoing work on issues such as fatigue, fair treatment, liability and compensation, which are particularly problematic for seafarers. In light of this objective, various issues related to seafarers’ health care and social security protection are addressed in educational programmes and workshops organized by DEHUKAM.
DEHUKAM’s training in maritime and ocean affairs has a direct impact on the protection and promotion of the rights of seafarers, fishermen and port workers. The ratification and implementation of maritime Conventions such as ILO Conventions and Recommendations, including the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, are particularly relevant to addressing the gender gap in the maritime, fisheries, ports and ocean sectors and promoting women in the maritime sector, including ensuring equal pay for work of equal value.
Progress towards Goal 8 has been challenged by trade tensions, rising debt in developing countries, conflicts and geopolitical tensions, which collectively threaten global economic growth. Women and youth have faced higher unemployment rates in recent years. Informal employment is a major global challenge, with more than 2 billion workers in informal jobs lacking social protection in 2023.
Slowing this negative progress requires sustainable economic policies, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, formalizing the informal economy, securing workers’ rights, social justice and creating inclusive employment opportunities, especially for women and youth.
“Building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fıster innovation”.
Technological advances, such as autonomous ships and developments in the port sector, are key to building resilient infrastructure and efficient operation of the transport sector. In line with this objective, DEHUKAM contributes to SDG 9 by providing a platform for capacity building initiatives, establishing legal and regulatory frameworks and exchanging knowledge and experience for Member States.
Investment, growth and development in the maritime and ports sectors is a clear indicator of a country’s current success and planning for more success in the future. Accordingly, DEHUKAM supports the national economy by promoting trade by sea, supporting shipping and defining national shipping lanes; improving port infrastructure and efficiency; managing and protecting fisheries, exploring offshore energy production and even promoting tourism.
“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.
Increasing heat waves, droughts and floods caused by climate change are already affecting billions of people worldwide and causing potentially irreversible changes to global ecosystems. As set out in the Paris Agreement, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 to limit warming to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body responsible for assessing climate change science, they must then decline by 43% by 2030 and fall to net zero by 2050.
In response, countries articulate climate action plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts through nationally determined contributions. However, current national commitments are not enough to meet the 1.5° C target. To move from a tipping point towards climate catastrophe to a turning point for a sustainable future, immediate and deep emissions reductions are needed in many sectors, including sectors for marine ecosystems.
Responding to climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and DEHUKAM continues to work to meet this challenge. In this process, DEHUKAM continues to contribute to the global fight against climate change by supporting UN SDG 13 to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
“Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.
Human activities are jeopardizing the planet’s largest ecosystem, the oceans and seas, and affecting the livelihoods of billions of people. Ongoing ocean acidification and rising ocean temperatures threaten marine life and negatively affect marine ecosystem services. Oceans are under increasing stress from multiple sources of pollution that are harmful to marine life and ultimately enter the food chain. Rapidly increasing fish consumption and inadequate public policies to manage the sector have led to the depletion of fish stocks. To combat the decline in ocean health, conservation efforts need to be intensified and solutions for a sustainable blue economy need to be adopted. This includes a “source-to-sea” approach that directly addresses the linkages between land, water, estuarine, delta, coastal, nearshore and ocean ecosystems to support holistic natural resource management and economic development.
While large areas of the ocean are protected, more intensive efforts are needed. In this regard, marine protected areas projects, including DEHUKAM’s work on ecosystem-sensitive mooring techniques and other effective, area-based measures to protect the sea ecosystems and its biodiversity, have increased significantly in recent years.
Since international maritime transportation takes place on the world’s oceans, measures to increase the safety and security of international maritime transportation and to prevent pollution from ships are developed within DEHUKAM and carried out in parallel with SDG 14 targets. At this point, an important part of DEHUKAM’s role is to ensure that shipping continues to contribute to the global economy without disturbing the delicate balance.
“Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”.
Global partnerships for sustainable development cover key areas such as finance, technology, trade and data. There are mixed trends in mobilizing financial resources for development, expanding internet connectivity and strengthening statistical systems. Recently, many developing countries have been struggling to recover from the effects of the pandemic, despite record levels of official development assistance and a strong recovery in global foreign direct investment and remittance flows. With competing priorities and limited fiscal space, many countries are finding economic recovery more difficult than ever.
Towards this development objective, DEHUKAM is engaged in many partnerships with maritime and ocean-related institutions and makes significant contributions to the sustainable development of the maritime community.
Emek Mahallesi, 19. Sokak. No:84, 06590 Çankaya/Ankara, Türkiye
Ankara Üniversitesi Deniz Hukuku Araştırma Merkezi (DEHUKAM) © 2025 Tüm Hakları Saklıdır.
