Back to the 2022 UN Ocean Conference

From June 27 to July 1, the 2nd United Nations Ocean Conference was held in Lisbon, Portugal. The French biodiversity Agency (OFB) was part of the French delegation.

A total of 6,000 participants, including 24 heads of State and government, and more than 2,000 representatives of civil society attended this second edition.

In his introduction, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, reminded the pressures for the oceans, such as water acidification, coral bleaching and plastic pollution. He also called for investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, more innovation and scientific knowledge and encouraged the agri-food sector to invest in more sustainable systems.

Throughout the week, several countries have made proposals for the oceans’ health:

• Kenya proposed to create a fund to finance the blue economy
• The Kingdom of Tonga, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Trinidad and Tobago have called for the creation of a binding legal instrument on the fight against plastic pollution
• Greece has pledged to establish marine protected areas on 30% of its maritime territory but also to reduce marine plastic waste by 50% and micro plastic waste by 30%
• Australia plans to inject 1.2 billion dollars to restore the Great Barrier Reef
• Comoros, Georgia, Venezuela, Benin and Spain have committed to strengthen the fight against illegal fishing
• The Principality of Monaco, Benin, Oman and Israel have pledged to increase the size of their marine protected areas

On the French side, Emmanuel Macron confirmed his determination to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), stating that "the troubles in the geopolitical world, which the United Nations has been going through since last February, must not distract us from our collective mission: succeeding with the Sustainable Development Agenda”.

A European Charter on Blue Education

This international conference was also the occasion to adopt "The Charter for a Blue Education". This document includes 10 commitments:

• Equip learners with knowledge about the role of the ocean as well as skills and tools
• Promote empathy for the ocean amongst learners
• Recognize the links between Blue, Climate and Green education
• Co-develop the best methods for engaging learners and optimizing their education
• Organize the ongoing training and development of education professionals, youth leaders and trainers
• Identify and encourage international and regional cooperation in ocean education
• Exchange, develop and disseminate good practices in blue education to increase the effectiveness of programs
• Increase the visibility of blue education with decision-makers makers and the media
• Promote the inclusion of blue education in the national curricula
• Contribute to the evaluation of strategies and policies that support blue education

This charter was signed on June 29 by 10 organizations that will implement these commitments in their respective countries:

The next UN Ocean Conference will take place in 2025. France and Costa Rica have officially submitted a joint application to host it.