BEFF & UNOC3: Private and Public Sector call for concrete action to save the Oceans.
- M Abti
- Jun 20
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 2
The 3rd edition of the United Nations Ocean Conference - UNOC3 in Nice closed a week ago after seven days of intense work, conferences and thematic workshops, educational showrooms and raising awareness campaigns on Blue Economy, Ocean Conservation and Climate Mitigation. The International Summit, organised by France co-hosted by the Republic of Costa Rica, gathered in Nice (South of France) 15,000 participants, from the 9th to the 13th June 2025, including about sixty Heads of State and Government as well as scientists, communicators, port and navy operators, leading companies and other ambassadors of the sea, on a global scale.
The core mission was to debate on key issues about new transformative economic and financial mechanism in support of keeping and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems.
Not by chance, the Blue Economy and Finance Forum - BEFF, co-organised by the Princes' Government, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Institut Océanographique de Monaco, was held on the 7th and the 8th June 2025 at the Grimaldi Forum to lay the foundations to the UN Conference representing a privileged stage where the parties were able to meet in an environment conducive to dialogue, in view of achieving concrete results, with the support of private actors and philanthropists.
But what targets were reached at the end of this COP - Conference of the Parties - for the Ocean? MONACŒCOART® is willing to take stock of this huge rendezvous attended as an accredited media. The parties focused on a number of key points to hit the edge in the shortest time possible: increasing the number of marine protected areas, effectively combat marine litter, introducing a shared and more stringent regulation on high seas, and creating integrated public and private financing instruments to support vulnerable coastal communities and island countries.
Li Junhua, UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the summit, pointed out: « We close this historic week not just with hope, but with concrete commitment, clear direction, and undeniable momentum (...) The waves of change have formed. It is now our collective responsibility to propel them forward – for our people, our planet, and future generations ». These words that closed the final UNOC3 press conference have, at the same time, introduced to the most operational part of this international meeting: the Nice Ocean Action Plan, entitled "Our Ocean, Our Future, United for Urgent Action". This policy act consists of two parts which include a Political Declaration and over 800 Voluntary Commitments by Governments, Scientists, UN Agencies, and Civil Society. These tools are designed to solve the ocean crisis through Ocean Literacy, Capacity Building, Innovation, Diplomacy and Inter-state Cooperation, pushing for the ratification of Intergovernmental Treaties.
There are several initiatives launched during the UNOC3 week. The European Commission has announced its willingness to invest 1 billion € to support ocean conservation, science, and sustainable fishing. The French Polynesia is about to launch the largest Marine Protected Area - MPA counting on about five million square kilometres marine space where emblematic species like Hawksbill turtles, in Vanuatu, and Manta Rays, in São Tomé and Príncipe, will be safeguarded along with their habitats. Spain pledged to unveil five new Marine Protected Areas, shortly. In total, the Conference encouraged at least 20 new MPAs worldwide, taking a step forward to the 30x30 target aiming to protect 30% of the Earth's land and ocean by 2030.
New Zealand engaged in allocating a 52 million $ investment to reinforce the marine governance in the Pacific Ocean. Germany presented a 100-million € munitions recovery programme to secure the Baltic and North Seas.
The High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean to mitigate underwater noise pollution was officially kicked off by the will of a panel made of thirty-seven Countries presided by Panama and Canada.
A new 'Coral Bond' was officially launched thanks to the synergy between Indonesia and the World Bank in order to foster coral reef conservation projects.
Moreover, Madagascar, Palau, and the Solomon Islands, are being working to put in place new tools to include coral reef and biodiversity protection as strategic priorities in their national policies.
As a final point, ninety-six Countries joined the Nice Wake Up Call for an Ambitious Plastic Treaty declaration to drastically reduce pollution from micro and macro plastics in the oceans, by adopting a strict lifecycle approach to plastic production.
The UNOC3 also triggered relevant diplomatic relations to advance the High Seas Treaty, the so called BBNJ - Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, unveiled in 2023 with the aim to protect marine life in international water. Despite the recent ratification of further nineteen countries, ten ratifications are still needed to validate the international agreement, including the United States which are currently on opposite positions. The achievement of 50 signatory Countries was nevertheless considered a great success by Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of France for the United Nations Ocean Conference, and Arnoldo André-Tinoco, the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, who insisted in strengthening the funding system in favour of the ocean cause.
As highlighted by Peter Thomson, the UN’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Nice Conference was crucial event though « It is not so much what happens at the conference, it is what happens afterward ». And the follow up presents a long list of things to do.
The geopolitical situation is still quite complicated: the Small Island Developing States claim to be given greater prominence in the global decision making, being directly affected to losses and damages caused by climate change and sea level rise. The same Countries complain to some Western Nations that are not particularly active in ocean preservation, failing to make adequate investments.
Deep-sea mining in international waters is another contradictory matter. Although scientific research has shown a serious danger to marine biodiversity, no agreement has been reached in UNOC3 Declaration, while United States are investing in this invasive activity of extracting marine resources, not caring about the concerns raised.
Bottom trawling fishing method is still widely used and legally authorised to catch fish and other marine species living on or close to the seabed, putting marine species and habitats at serious and irreversible risk, if it does not meet high levels of sustainability.
Besides that, the conference also highlighted the need to raise awareness in the industry and financial sectors, whose perception of the ocean cause is still jeopardised due to conflicting economic and business interests.
Despite the great strides made, the international regulatory framework still has gap not based on sufficiently clear, science-based and shared objectives.
It is therefore prior to focus on even more ambitious targets in terms of stakeholder involvement, and the creation of integrated hard and soft law tools to make business choices more informed and effective with a clear vision on desired future scenarios. ***
By Maurice Abbati
Journalist; Editor; Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist
Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication" by Springer International Publishing.
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