Global Ocean Summit in Nice ends with a raft of pledges for marine protection

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) pushed for stronger language on “loss and damage.”PHOTO/ Pablo_Marx, Flickr

By PATRICK MAYOYO

and Agencies

newshub@eyewitness.africa

The port of Nice echoed with the sound of foghorns on Friday – a brassy crescendo marking the close of the Third United Nations Ocean Conference, a rare show of global unity.

Just moments before, over 170 nations had adopted by consensus a sweeping political declaration pledging urgent action to safeguard the ocean.

“We close this historic week not just with hope, but with concrete commitment, clear direction, and undeniable momentum,” said Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the summit.

Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the five-day conference drew more than 15,000 participants – including over 60 Heads of State and Government – to the Mediterranean coast. With over 450 side events and nearly 100,000 visitors, the gathering, known as UNOC3, built on momentum from previous conferences in New York (2017) and Lisbon (2022).

The summit culminated in the adoption of the Nice Ocean action Plan; a two-part outcome comprising a political declaration and over 800 voluntary commitments from governments, scientists, civil society organisations, and UN agencies. These span from youth-led advocacy and public education on deep-sea ecosystems, to science and innovation capacity building, and pledges to ratify key treaties.

“The breadth of commitments reflects the scale of the ocean crisis,” Mr Li said. Among the highlights: the European Commission pledged €1 billion towards marine conservation, ocean science, and sustainable fisheries. French Polynesia announced the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area – its entire exclusive economic zone, totalling around five million square kilometres.

Germany launched a €100 million initiative to clear wartime munitions from the Baltic and North Seas. New Zealand committed NZ\$52 million to bolster Pacific Ocean governance, while Spain unveiled five new marine protected areas.

A 37-nation coalition led by Panama and Canada launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, addressing underwater noise pollution. Meanwhile, Indonesia and the World Bank introduced a ‘Coral Bond’ to fund coral reef conservation.

“The waves of change have formed,” Mr Li added. “It is now our collective responsibility to propel them forward – for our people, our planet, and future generations.”

The summit opened on Monday with urgent warnings. “We are not treating the ocean as what it is – the ultimate global commons,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, joined by Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Rodrigo Chaves Robles of Costa Rica. All called for a renewed multilateralism grounded in science.

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor (right), France’s special envoy for the conference, at UNOC3;s closing press conference, in Nice. PHOTO/UN/DESA

By Friday, France’s special envoy for the conference, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, reflected on the stakes: “We wanted in Nice… to take a chance on transformative change. I believe we have moved forward, but we can no longer go backwards.”

One of the summit’s key goals was to accelerate momentum behind the High Seas Treaty, officially the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement – adopted in 2023. It requires 60 ratifications to come into force; with 19 new ratifications this week alone, the total now stands at 50.

“This is a significant victory,” said Mr Poivre d’Arvor. He pointed to the notable absence of a senior US delegation, as well as President Donald Trump’s recent executive order advancing deep-sea mining. “The abyss is not for sale,” he said, echoing earlier remarks from President Macron.

Nonetheless, the French envoy underlined the broad consensus reached in Nice. “One country may be missing,” he said. “But 92 per cent of the ‘co-owners’ were present today.”

His Costa Rican counterpart, Foreign Minister Arnoldo André-Tinoco, stressed the need for financial follow-through. “Each commitment must be held accountable,” he said at the closing session.

For Peter Thomson, the UN’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, the conference marked a milestone. “It’s not so much what happens at the conference – it’s what happens afterwards,” he told UN News, reflecting on the evolution of global ocean advocacy since Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) was created in 2015.

“From the desert we were in back then to where we are now – the level of engagement is remarkable.”

Looking ahead, focus is already turning to the Fourth UN Ocean Conference, scheduled for 2028 and to be co-hosted by Chile and South Korea. Mr Thomson expressed hope that major agreements – including the BBNJ treaty, the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, and the forthcoming Global Plastics Treaty – will be ratified and implemented by then.

With SDG14’s 2030 deadline fast approaching, he said it was time to raise ambition. While the initial target was to protect 10 per cent of the ocean by 2020 – a goal that was missed – the new aim is to safeguard 30 per cent by 2030.

Wearing a shell necklace gifted by the Marshall Islands, Mr Thomson praised the leadership of small island nations and atoll states in pushing ambitious marine protections. “If small countries can make big measures like that, why can’t the big countries follow suit?” he asked.

He also commended the 2,000 scientists who attended the One Ocean Science Congress in the days leading up to the summit. “What a great way to run things,” he remarked.

Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of UNOC3, at the closing press conference, in Nice. PHOTO/UN/DESA

Despite the summit’s largely celebratory tone, tensions remained.  Small Island Developing States (SIDS) pushed for stronger language on “loss and damage” – climate change impacts that exceed countries’ ability to adapt. “You cannot have an ocean declaration without SIDS,” warned one delegate earlier in the week.

Others, including Costa Rica’s President Chaves, called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining until its risks can be fully assessed by scientists – a position not reflected in the final declaration.

Nevertheless, the political declaration adopted in Nice; titled Our Ocean, Our Future: United for Urgent Action* – reaffirms global commitments to protect 30 per cent of the ocean and land by 2030. It aligns with key frameworks such as the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Agreement (adopted in 2022) and the International Maritime Organization’s climate targets.

“The real test,” concluded Mr Li, “is not what we said here in Nice – but what we do next.”

As the sun set behind the Promenade des Anglais and the final plenary adjourned, the sea – ancient, vital, and imperilled – bore silent witness to a fragile yet shared promise.