What Was Achieved at the UN Ocean Conference in France?

From pledges to establish Marine Protected Areas to calls for a Global Plastic Treaty and to end deep-sea mining, Earth.Org recaps the key achievements at last week’s UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France.

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Some 15,000 people, including over 60 government leaders, attended the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, last week to discuss the implementation of multilateral instruments for ocean protection and conservation.

Notably, the US only sent observers to the conference, a move that is part of a broader retreat from multilateral institutions and climate action since Donald Trump took office in January.

Oceans, which cover approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface, are the world’s largest carbon sinks, having absorbed around 90% of the excess heat in the Earth system generated by rising greenhouse gas levels. More than 3 billion people depend directly on the ocean for their livelihood.

But rising global temperatures, insufficient protection and excessive exploitation of marine resources are threatening them, leading to a decline in ocean health that poses risks for marine ecosystems, humans and Earth’s health.

In December 2022, more than 190 countries adopted the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which requires that at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas are “effectively conserved” or otherwise restored from degraded states by 2030. Yet data from last October shows that a mere 2.8% of the ocean is “effectively” protected, with only 8% of the world’s ocean currently designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

MPAs and other topics dominated the talks in Nice, with progress made on several fronts. Here are the main takeaways from the conference.

High Seas

19 more countries have ratified the UN High Seas Treaty – the world’s first treaty to protect and conserve marine biodiversity in international waters adopted in 2022 – bringing the total to 50. These included Albania, Bahamas, Belgium, Croatia, the Ivory Coast, Denmark, Fiji, Malta, Mauritania, Vanuatu, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vietnam.

Several countries have also indicated their intent to deposit their ratification instruments at the UN in the coming weeks and months.

While 136 countries have signed the treaty – including 20 last week – a minimum of 60 ratifications are required for the agreement to come into force. Once the number is reached, the treaty will enter into force within 120 days.

“The Treaty’s power lies in the number of countries that join, so while we celebrate this incredible progress, we urge all remaining nations to ratify without delay and help drive this Treaty past the first 60 to make it a truly global force for ocean protection,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance.

In line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the treaty contains 75 articles aimed at “protecting, caring for, and ensuring the responsible use of marine environment, maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems, and conserving the inherent value of marine biological diversity.” For this to happen, countries must first of all work towards stopping destructive trends, including marine plastic pollution and unsustainable fishing practices. In other words, signatories are legally required to assess the potential impacts of any planned activities beyond their national jurisdiction.

The treaty covers international waters, which fall outside the jurisdiction of any single state, and account for more than 60% of the world’s oceans.

Marine Protected Areas

Currently, almost all protected marine areas (MPAs) are within national territorial waters. But the High Seas Treaty allows for these reserves to be created in the open ocean.

Last week, several governments, including Chile, Colombia and Tanzania, announced the creation or expansion of MPAs. Among them was also French Polynesia, which announced the creation of the largest MPA in the world, spanning 5 million square kilometers.

Of that 5 million, 1.1 million square kilometers will be designated as a highly or fully protected areas – where only traditional coastal fishing, ecotourism, and scientific exploration are allowed, said President Moetai Brotherson. 

Only approximately 8% of the world’s ocean is currently designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), zones where a government has placed limits on human activity in a bid to protect marine habitats and species for the good of the ocean, society, economy and culture.

“Over the years we’ve observed the mood shifting from some ambivalence around 30×30 in the marine space, to acceptance that protecting 30% of the ocean is the bare minimum needed to set things on a better path, and now determination to make that a reality. But to have any hope of marine protected areas (MPAs) having the desired impact for wildlife, for climate, for people, we know quality and effectiveness are critical,” said Catherine Weller, Global Policy Director at Flora & Fauna.

Weller also urged countries to work with local people, including small-scale fishers, and to halt bottom trawling in MPAs.

Deep Sea Mining

Another topic of discussion at UNOC3 was deep-sea mining, the highly destructive process of extracting valuable minerals from the seabed. Scientists have long warned that deep-sea mining can wipe out marine ecosystems and release huge amounts of carbon, which is naturally absorbed by marine life and sediments and stored in the deep sea.

Speaking during the open plenary, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the practice as “madness” and called for a global moratorium, describing it as “an international necessity.” 

Four new countries pledged the support for a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining last week, bringing the total to 37.

Greenpeace’s Head of Delegation Megan Randles said progress made at the conference on other fronts feels “hollow” in the absence of “more tangible commitments” to end deep-sea mining.

“We’ve heard lots of fine words here in Nice, but these need to turn into tangible action. Countries must be brave, stand up for global cooperation and make history by stopping deep sea mining this year,” she said, urging countries to commit to the moratorium at next month’s meeting of the International Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica.

Macron also added that “the deep sea is not for sale” in response to a recent US policy by the Trump administration, which directs the Department of Commerce and other executive agencies to pursue the exploration and exploitation of deep-sea resources both within and outside of the US.

The Trump administration also reversed protections that restricted commercial fishing across nearly 500,000 square miles of Pacific waters. The restrictions were designed to protect the space, home to coral reefs, endangered species like the coconut crab and hawksbill turtle, and migratory fish populations such as the bumphead parrotfish. 

Coral Reefs

A series of financial pledges and commitments also renewed hope for the conservation of coral reefs, which are among the most fragile marine ecosystems.

11 countries, including the Bahamas, Belize, France, Indonesia, Madagascar, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, and Vanuatu, signed a new pledge to protect climate resilient reefs –corals that have the best chance of surviving the threats of climate change.

Al signatories pledge to identify and prioritize climate-resilient reefs in national strategies to implement area-based conservation strategies; integrate reef protection into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and development plans; enact and enforce policies to reduce local pressures on coral reefs from destructive fishing, pollution, and unsustainable development; implement national coral reef monitoring and reef action plans; and ensure community leadership, equity, and local knowledge are at the center of solutions.

Separately, a coalition of philanthropic partners and governments, including Norway, the UK, New Zealand, France, and Germany, pledged over $25 million in new contributions to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), a global coral finance instrument aiming to increase the protection and resilience of some 12% of reefs remaining on Earth by 2030.

So far, the fund’s blended finance model has supported more than 100 reef-positive enterprises and enabled sustainable financing for over 10 million hectares of marine and coastal ecosystems, including approximately 5% of the planet’s remaining coral reefs.

The announcements come as global coral reefs face a tipping point due to the most extensive bleaching event on record, which is currently affecting 83.7% of the world’s coral reef area across at least 83 countries and territories.

It is the fourth mass coral bleaching event ever recorded and the second to occur in the last 10 years, driven by rising ocean temperatures.

Coral reefs are extremely important ecosystems that exist in more than 100 countries and territories and support at least 25% of marine species; they are integral to sustaining Earth’s vast and interconnected web of marine biodiversity and provide ecosystem services valued up to $9.9 trillion annually. They are sometimes referred to as “rainforests of the sea” for their ability to act as carbon sinks by absorbing the excess carbon dioxide in the water. 

Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Executive Secretary of UN Capital Development Fund, said the new financial commitments are “especially significant,” but he added tat more donors and investors are needed to “meet the urgency of this moment.

Plastic Pollution

Ministers and representatives from over 95 countries called for a Global Plastic Treaty after negotiations stalled last December.

“We need comprehensive measures covering the full lifecycle of plastics. We must reduce the production and consumption of plastics,” said Agnes Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for Ecological Transition, during a press briefing on day two of UNOC3.

It comes ahead of another round of negotiations scheduled for early August in Geneva, Switzerland.

Over 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year. As most plastics do not break down, they are gradually accumulating in our oceans, where they can take centuries to decompose, without ever really disappearing. 

More on the topic: Why the World Urgently Needs a Global Plastic Treaty