By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK- The third UN Ocean Conference met in Nice, France from June 9-13 with 15,000 people participating, including those from civil society and business that was co-hosted by the French and Costa Rican governments. There were also 55 heads of state and government attending where 450 side events took place on accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve the ocean and to use it in a sustainable manner. Ten Ocean Action Panels produced contemporary, futuristic recommendations to guide implementation across key themes from marine pollution and nature-based solutions to the role of women, youth and indigenous peoples in ocean governance. As United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “I urge all countries to come forward with bold pledges,” as he stated in his opening remarks, adding, “We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope.” Guterres has been consistently urging member nations for decades to forge a sustainable path forward for ocean and sea preservation with a major challenge being plastics in the ocean.
Meeting sustainability and conservation commitments related to the ocean is crucial since the ocean has become increasingly endangered from human activity and climate change. The goal at the U.N. Ocean Conference is to adopt an intergovernmental negotiated political declaration with a registry of voluntary commitments from diverse sectors to be known as the Nice Ocean Action Plan. Such a plan would have as its goals to catalyze urgent and inclusive science-based action to safeguard the ocean for present and future generations. Key challenges on the agenda included the Marine Biodiversity Treaty, Sustainable Fisheries, Marine Protected Areas, Decarbonizing Maritime Transport, Plastic Pollution, Financing, Science and Governance. Critical outcomes from the conference include renewed support for the High Seas Treaty, increasing international calls for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining. Other outcomes included Panama and the Republic of Korea joining the 100% Alliance for sustainable ocean management. A positive step forward is the launch of the ‘Blue NDC Challenge’ where France and Brazil have urged placing ocean solutions at the core of global climate and development policies – a crucial demand for the future of the ocean.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron of France commented at the opening: “We need to revitalize multilateralism behind the U.N. Secretary General” and added “The only way to meet that challenge is to mobilize all actors, heads of state and government speaking here, but also scientists.” Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles said “This summit must be remembered as the time when the world understood that looking after the ocean is not simply an option. Rather, it is a moral, economic and indeed, we need minimum protection.” The conference which also gathers private sector representatives and those from local communities takes place during the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science, and follows major global agreements such as the Marine Biodiversity Treaty and the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. The Conference was held at a critical time for ocean health with the overall aim of addressing major threats such as climate change, overfishing, pollution and biodiversity loss. As U.N. Under-Secretary-General li Junhua, Conference Secretary-General cautioned: “The time for incremental progress is over. We need billions, not millions, in investment. We need binding commitments that survive political transitions and economic pressures.” As the Global Director of Ocean Program, WRI – Tom Pickerell stated: “We can’t save the ocean on spare change. Blue finance is finally gaining attention, but we’re still $550 billion a year short of what’s needed for long-term ocean health. Without urgent investment, we risk accelerating the collapse of marine biodiversity, undermining food security for billions and weakening one of our most powerful buffers against climate change.” Pickerell added: “Some countries, like Brazil, France, Panama, and South Korea, came to Nice ready to lead — not just talk. But the ocean’s fate isn’t in their hands alone. If the world doesn’t act together now, we could lose the very lifeblood that sustains us all.”
