UN Ocean Conference opens in France, aiming to protect our seas
Two thirds of our oceans are ‘areas beyond national jurisdiction – that’s half our planet’
The third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) opened on Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea.
French President Emmanuel Macron, delivering the keynote address in the host city of Nice, urged countries to move “from words to deeds” in safeguarding the oceans. He warned that “the fight for the ocean is at the heart of the years-long battles we’ve been waging – for biodiversity, for climate, for our environment and for our health”.
The conference comes as just 2.7 per cent of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the non-profit Marine Conservation Institute.
That is far below the target agreed under the “30x30” pledge to conserve 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030.
Atop this year’s agenda is ratification of the High Seas Treaty. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned.
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“It’s the Wild West out there with countries just fishing anywhere without any sort of regulation, and that needs to change,” said Mauro Randone, regional projects manager at the WWF’s Mediterranean Marine Initiative.