United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice: Let’s put forward ambitious proposals

The Ocean, a common to be protected

The ocean covers 71% of the planet and is our main ally in the fight against climate change and the preservation of biodiversity. The ocean is our natural air conditioner, our oxygen reservoir and the main carbon storage site. Our future, our temperature, the oxygen we breathe: it’s all in the ocean.

To achieve this, good governance of the Ocean is now recognised as one of the priorities for the environmental action needed for the planet and for humanity. But while the importance of a healthy ocean is now better understood within our societies, this ‘blue agenda’ for marine conservation is still highly segmented and not very visible politically, compared with actions more directly linked to climate change, for example.

To make the Ocean a priority for political decision-makers, non-governmental organisations, foundations, scientists and sea-lovers have asked the United Nations to set up a global conference on the Ocean, as part of the efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal on the Ocean (SDG 14) defined in 2015.

As a reminder, 17 Sustainable Development Goals and a 15-year plan to achieve them were adopted in 2015 by the Member States of the United Nations. These goals are a universal call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and improve the daily lives of people everywhere, while opening up prospects for the future.

---

What is UNOC ? 

This conference is a United Nations initiative aimed at mobilising the international community to protect and conserve the Ocean and marine resources.

Held for the first time in New York in 2017, at the UN headquarters, and then in Lisbon in June 2022, the UNOC’s main aim is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which aims to ‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’.

The 3rd edition of the UNOC will be held in Nice from 28 May to 13 June around a main theme : Accelerating action and mobilising all stakeholders to conserve and sustainably use the Ocean. It is co-organised by the governments of France and Costa Rica.

UNOC conferences bring together intergovernmental organisations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, indigenous peoples and local communities.

Political discussions are held on the threats to the Ocean and the solutions to address them, as well as voluntary commitments by States, partnerships and the promotion of initiatives to improve the health of the Ocean.

30,000 participants from over 100 countries are expected in Nice.

---

How does the UNOC fit into the Ocean governance processes?

The UNOC seeks to play an integrating role with a multi-thematic approach to raise global awareness on ocean-related issues, which are often separated between different UN processes such as the High Seas Treaty or the Plastic Treaty for instance. It also allows climate and biodiversity issues to be addressed at the same time, whereas they are usually dealt with separately in dedicated international conventions – on climate change or biodiversity, for example – or by independent authorities (e.g. the International Seabed Authority). In these governance frameworks, the representatives (political/civil society) of the Ocean community are not necessarily the same.

International processes linked to the Ocean:

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Ratification of the United Nations High Seas Treaty (BBNJ)
• Negotiations on an international treaty against plastic pollution
• Discussions on a moratorium on deep-sea mining with the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

---

What are the UN’s ambitions for the Nice conference and why is it important?

The priorities

Since their adoption 10 years ago, the SDGs have sometimes been called into question. The main criticism is that they offer a siloed vision of the issues and therefore do not allow us to grasp the uniqueness of the environmental and societal challenges. Moreover, SDG14 in particular includes targets that were supposed to be achieved by 2020 and others that remain unclear. Nor is there any real reporting common to all countries to coordinate the effectiveness of actions.

So we need to re-discuss SDG14. This is the purpose of the UNOC2025 conference.

The UN and the organising countries have three priorities:

• Priority 1: Work towards progress in multilateral processes related to the Ocean to raise the level of ambition for the protection of the Ocean.
• Priority 2: Mobilise funding for the implementation of SDG14 and support the development of a sustainable blue economy
• Priority 3: Strengthen and better disseminate knowledge related to marine sciences for better policy-making

---

Expected results?

This 3rd edition of the UNOC is the first with real political ambitions. The conference will conclude with the adoption of the official declaration of the Conference, the Nice Ocean Declaration. It was negotiated beforehand in New York and will be finalised at the plenary session in Nice by all UN member states.

This declaration puts forward good intentions, but the commitments made by countries will not be binding.

This is why France and Costa Rica, who are co-chairing the conference, have chosen to draw up the Nice Ocean Action Plan to anchor the conference in concrete terms. This plan will be a roadmap that defines voluntary actions and tangible coalitions on the part of the parties, to complement the UN political declaration.

---

The Tara Ocean Foundation calls for strong ambitions at this conference.

In 2022, following the lack of concrete progress made at the 2nd UNOC in Lisbon, several partners, including the Tara Ocean Foundation, launched the ‘Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean’¹ initiative, a movement that puts forward new and ambitious proposals to build a new vision of ocean protection that looks to the long term.

Among these proposals, one new principle deserves to be highlighted: the Ocean Protection Principle. To truly protect the Ocean, we need a real paradigm shift: reversing the burden of proof. It is no longer up to associations, researchers or governments to prove that there is a nuisance, but it is up to those who wish to exploit it to prove that they have no negative impact on marine ecosystems, in other words on Life.

The ‘Let’s Be Nice To The Ocean’ partners are working to have this Ocean Protection Principle included in the Nice Ocean Action Plan. Then, after Nice, a task force of experts will have to be launched to take this innovative vision to the States, convince them and move forward with its implementation. Legal experts are also working on the operationalisation of the Principle of Protection, with concrete avenues in international and environmental law.

---

The Foundation will be mobilised in Nice to ensure that concrete progress is made on the processes underway, particularly with regard to :

• a moratorium (or precautionary pause) on deep-sea mining within the International Seabed Agency (ISA),
• an effort to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, with Marine Protected Areas guaranteeing real protection,
• the International Treaty against Plastic Pollution, and in particular the recognition of the systemic dimension of plastic pollution (toxic, chemical, climatic) and the objective of a drastic reduction in production (-75% compared to 2019 to align with the +1.5°c objective).
• the International Treaty for the Protection of Biodiversity in the High Seas (BBNJ) to come into force.

Find out more about plastic pollution

Adoption of the high-seas treaty

---

On 7 March, the schooner Tara left the port of Lorient for its UNOC Mission. During its journey, the Tara Ocean Foundation, in partnership with scientists, civil society players and institutions, will be promoting the Ocean Protection Principle and mobilising to make the concrete progress needed to preserve it. It will also be reaching out to the general public to raise awareness of the challenges facing the UNOC before arriving at the UNOC in Nice on 8 June to take part in the conference.

Follow “Mission UNOC”

---

UNOC highlights

One Ocean Science Congress

This scientific congress will be held from 3 to 6 June in Nice. Organised with Ifremer and the CNRS, it will bring together 2,000 international scientists to provide heads of state and government with a summary of the health of the oceans and recommendations for action.

Sommet Ocean Rise & Coastal Resilience

The Coalition of Coastal Cities and Regions will be officially launched at the summit on 7 June. This launch is the culmination of an unprecedented global mobilisation to support coastal cities and regions directly threatened by rising sea levels.

Blue Economy and Finance Forum

On 7 and 8 June, Heads of State, businesses, financiers and civil society will meet in Monaco to make a significant financial commitment to the blue economy and propose innovative blue financial tools.

World Ocean Day

On 8 June, World Ocean Day will be celebrated, with a special focus on the peoples of the ocean, in the presence of the main players in global ocean civil society.

After the universal “Grand Bain”, 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 “Baie des Anges”.

Offical sessions

In addition to the plenary session bringing together the 193 Member States of the United Nations, dialogue sessions will be held bringing together Member States, international organisations and representatives of civil society (NGOs, scientists, businesses).

These dialogues, the “Ocean Action Panels”, will highlight the commitment of the various stakeholders and the creation of coalitions and projects in favour of the Ocean. They will help to anchor the Conference in action by proposing concrete solutions with all the participants.

The 10 Ocean Action Panels:

• Fostering sustainable fisheries management, including supporting small-scale fishers;
• Conserving, sustainably managing, and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems including deep sea ecosystems;
• Promoting and supporting all forms of cooperation, especially at the regional and subregional level;
• Preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities;
• Leveraging ocean, climate, and biodiversity interlinkages;
• Advancing sustainable ocean-based economies, sustainable maritime transport, and coastal community resilience leaving no one behind;
• Promoting the role of sustainable food from the ocean for poverty eradication and food security;
• Increasing ocean-related scientific cooperation, knowledge, capacity building, marine technology, and education to strengthen the science-policy interface for ocean health;
• Enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and
• Mobilizing finance for ocean actions in the support of SDG 14.

At the end of these sessions, the Member States will adopt the Nice Ocean Action Plan, comprising a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from stakeholders.

Political side events

Side events will be organised in the Blue Zone, focusing on political and technical issues.

Events for the general public

Parallel events and activities for the general public will also be organised throughout the week. At the “Palais des Expositions”, an exhibition area, the green zone, also known as ‘La Baleine’, will enable all visitors to discover or explore in greater depth the themes of the conference, micro-concerts will be organised at the “Théâtre de Verdure” and other activities will be organised throughout the city. 

Closing concerts

A large UNOC3 closing concert will be held at the Allianz Arena, followed by 4 smaller concerts on the Promenade des Anglais.

1. ‘Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean’ is a Varda Group initiative launched in partnership with the Ocean & Climate Platform, the Tara Océan Foundation, TBA21-Academy, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and MedPAN. Around a hundred NGOs have already joined the movement. ↩︎