Countries have come to rely on a network of cables and pipes under the sea for their energy and communications. So, it has been worrying to read headlines about communications cables being cut and, in one case, an undersea gas pipeline being blown up. Critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) as these connections are known, supports about…
Bogota, Colombia — The services the ocean provides are the backbone of our collective health, wealth and food security, yet today just 2.7% of the ocean has been assessed and deemed to be effectively protected. In failing to establish adequate safeguards, not only are we condemning communities and ecosystems across the world to decline and…
With one day remaining before the conclusion of the Third UN Ocean Conference, delegates in Nice are preparing for the adoption of the summit’s eagerly anticipated political declaration. Small island developing States, facing the direct effects of climate change and marine resource decline, are pushing to ensure their perspectives are reflected in global ocean policy….
Nice, France — As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum–and funding–to deliver on…
Nice, France — The 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) has seen a significant presence from Indigenous peoples, who insist that their perspective and guidance be taken into account in the global efforts for sustainable ocean use and conservation. The sense of responsibility to the ocean and recognition of its history is an example that the…
Delegates at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference opened in the French city of Nice on Monday. PHOTO/Courtesy. By PATRICK MAYOYO [email protected] The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference opened in the French city of Nice on Monday, with leaders urging accelerated efforts to protect marine ecosystems amid growing threats from climate change, pollution and over-fishing….
Reshaping the relationship between humans and oceans. PHOTO/UN. By PATRICK MAYOYO [email protected] A groundbreaking event in Nice, France, brought together global leaders, innovators, and environmental advocates to discuss and reimagine humanity’s relationship with the Ocean. The event, titled “The Future is Now: Let’s Dive into an Ocean of Possibilities”, aimed to foster hope and promote…
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) pushed for stronger language on “loss and damage.”PHOTO/ Pablo_Marx, Flickr By PATRICK MAYOYO and Agencies [email protected] The port of Nice echoed with the sound of foghorns on Friday – a brassy crescendo marking the close of the Third United Nations Ocean Conference, a rare show of global unity. Just moments before,…
Nice, France — “There is no climate action without ocean action,” President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands told reporters, as she and other representatives of Pacific island states reiterated that countries must honor their climate action agreements. “The ocean is bearing the brunt of our failure to address climate change and transition away from…
