“We have to thank the ocean for every two breaths we take.” These were the opening words from H.E. Ambassador Gina Guillén-Grillo, Director General of Foreign Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica and co-chair of the 2025 United Nations Oceans Conference in June 2025 in Nice, France. The conference will be held to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
The UN Planning Meeting consisted of two sessions on various aspects of the June 2025 UN meeting. In the morning session, co-chairs from Costa Rica and France provided strong opening statements and UN Member State Delegates, UN Organizations, and Stakeholder Representatives had the opportunity to present five minutes of comments on the proposed 10 panels organized for June 2025. The second session was run by representatives from Cape Verde and Australia, Planning Directors for the declaration to be made next June and offered a similar platform for delegates to share topics or goals they see as imperative to be included at that time. Throughout the course of the day several key themes emerged, many of which Sea Save is already in action of supporting through their work in marine life conservation, ocean literacy, and preservation campaigning.
Two of the most important messages were the urgency of serious action at all levels to reach targeted goals and the severe underfunding of SDG 14. Of the 17 U.N. Sustainability Goals for 2030, Life Below Water continues to be the most underfunded of the goals. There is a critical need both for governments, private actors and NGO to increase funding campaigns and budget allocations to support initiatives directed at reaching the U.N. target goals.
Themes connected to the goals and foundation of the SSF are the importance of continued ocean literacy and education, and gender equity in sustainable development and marine conservation. Many delegates and stakeholders alike stressed the importance of needing stronger education on ocean conservation and placing urgent emphasis on the state of ocean and marine environment health. NGOs play a key role here and through increased information sharing and funding, help bridge the gap between in this area.
The importance of nature-based solutions to reach SDG 14 Goals which are informed by science as well as Indigenous and First Peoples knowledge also resonated in most who spoke throughout the day’s meetings. Much of biological marine life conservation efforts are based in scientific studies and research conducted in the ocean and other marine ecosystems. SSF works both above and below water, acting as first-hand testimony to the biological importance of protected ocean zones and species preservation.
Ocean health impacts biological marine life and our society in many ways, not only species population and ecosystem preservation but also extreme weather events, coastline erosion and sea level rise. These real-time concerns raised during the two sessions reinforce the tireless campaigning of the SSF for stronger regulations in marine life conservation, including CITES. Select political and economic themes also highlighted the importance of such work, including arctic shipping lanes, deep sea and ocean floor mining, land pollution impact on ocean pollution, and overfishing and blackmarket trade in endangered or protected marine life.
Despite hardships discussed, co-chair H.E. Ambassador Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Special Envoy of the President of France for the Third United Nations Ocean Conference shared in his closing statements of the second session that “tonight I will fly back to Paris [to vote in our parliamentary elections], and I leave with a feeling of hope. The commitment and passion demonstrated here today in decisive action to reach our goals makes me confident in our meeting next year in Nice.”
