Mission UNOC
Heading for the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC)
An expedition to mobilise politicians and citizens
In the run-up to the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), the schooner Tara is heading for Nice for a number of public awareness-raising and commitment-building stopovers. These stopovers will facilitate dialogue between civil society, scientists and political and economic leaders on the major issues of protection and governance of the Ocean in order to promote ambitious and shared positions in preparation for the UN summit.
The UNOC Mission takes place in two stages:
A route from Lorient to Nice with several stopovers
where key issues will be discussed,
Participation in the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Ocean
to be held in Nice in June 2025.
Together,
Let’s defend Life.
Let’s protect the Ocean.
What is UNOC
The 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference, known as UNOC3, is a major global event taking place in Nice from 28 May to 13 June 2025. The conference is jointly organised by France and Costa Rica.
The UNOC is an international gathering that brings together countries from around the world to agree on better protection for the Ocean and its resources. The first UNOC was held in New York in 2017, followed by Lisbon in 2022. Its main aim is to discuss Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which aims to preserve marine life and ensure a sustainable future for our oceans.
The main theme of this 3rd edition of the UNOC is: Accelerating action and mobilising all stakeholders to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.
Our ambitions for UNOC
For over 20 years, the Tara Ocean Foundation has been exploring the ocean to better understand its essential role and inform political decisions.
Protecting the Ocean is no longer an option: strong action is needed to preserve biodiversity, combat pollution, act against climate change and regulate the exploitation of resources.
UNOC 2025 is a key moment for bringing together governments, scientists, NGOs and economic players to find concrete solutions. Tara will be there to defend these ambitious commitments and get things moving!
A paradigm shift is needed to truly protect the Ocean: protecting the Ocean must be the norm rather than the exception.
This is the Ocean Protection Principle.
This vision is supported by Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean, a movement launched by the Varda Group in cooperation with the Ocean and Climate Platform, the Tara Ocean Foundation, TBA21-Academy, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, and MedPAN. Numerous NGOs have joined the movement
The Ocean Protection Principle is the central message that the Tara Ocean Foundation will take to the UNOC. The aim? To have this principle included in the “Nice Ocean Action Plan” and to launch a Task Force supported by a coalition of States.
The Tara Ocean Foundation will also work to advance ongoing processes for better governance and protection of the Ocean, such as :
– ratification of the International Treaty on the Protection of the High Seas and Marine Biodiversity (BBNJ),
– a moratorium on seabed mining,
– Marine Protected Areas that guarantee real protection,
– take into account the systemic dimension of plastic pollution and drastically reducing production.
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara’s stopovers
Mission UNOC
Tara Ocean Foundation’s programme in Nice
8 May /24 August, Nice
Becoming Ocean’ exhibition at Villa Arson
The Villa Arson, TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and the Tara Océan Foundation present ‘Becoming Ocean: a social conversation about the Ocean’, a major exhibition that explores in a choral way the main challenges the Ocean faces.
More than 20 international artists, including 7 who have been in residence on Tara, are taking part in the exhibition, which will be held at the Villa Arson, through critical and documentary approaches as well as more sensory, poetic or speculative expressions.
3 / 6 June, Nice
One Ocean Science Congress
Organised with Ifremer and CNRS, the congress will bring together 2,000 international scientists to provide heads of state and government, as well as all UNOC3 participants and society as a whole, with a synthesis of scientific knowledge on the health, dynamics and future trajectories of the Ocean, on its conservation and sustainable use, and on the services and benefits it brings to our societies.
The Tara Ocean Foundation is taking part in this congress to highlight the scientific results of its expeditions and emphasise the importance of science in political decision-making.
7/8 June, Monaco
Blue Economy Finance Forum
Heads of State, businesses, financiers and civil society are meeting to make a significant financial commitment to the blue economy and propose innovative blue finance tools.
8 June, Nice
World Ocean Day
World Ocean Day will be celebrated, with a special focus on the people of the ocean, in the presence of the main players of the global ocean civil society.
After the Universal Bath, maritime bands, the maritime parade, numerous events and meetings on land and at sea, the day will close with a meeting between Ocean leaders and a show at sea and in the sky over the B”aie des Anges”.
The Tara Océan Foundation and its famous schooner will of course be taking part.
9/13 June, Nice
During the political negotiations
The schooner will be docked in the port of Nice close to the official blue zone. She will be hosting political meetings on board, while the Tara Ocean Foundation teams will be taking part in events in the area.
28 May/15 June, Nice
Events for all
In a green zone accessible to all, the Palais des Expositions, renamed ‘the Whale’ for the occasion, will enable all visitors to discover or explore in greater depth the themes of the conference, such as the cryosphere, the high seas, coral reefs, the abysses…. The Tara Ocean Foundation will be present in some of the pavilions.
BBNJ !
After fifteen years of negotiations, the UN adopts the Treaty for the Protection of Biodiversity in the High Seas!
Mobilisation of political decision makers
For 20 years, the Tara Ocean Foundation has been mobilising political decision-makers on major Ocean protection issues, such as plastic pollution and the preservation of biodiversity in the high seas.
