As representatives from across the United Nations convene at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) to deliberate on global actions for our oceans, a vital chorus of voices from the grassroots level offers crucial insights. The Ocean Knowledge Action Network (Ocean KAN), a global collective of ocean professionals spanning over 35 countries and nearly a dozen Indigenous nations, conducted listening sessions across the planet. These sessions aimed to capture the perspectives of those working directly on ocean management, protection, science, and culture – voices often unheard in high-level global discussions. With the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development at its midpoint, these findings provide a timely check-in on whether global efforts are aligning with the needs of a healthy and thriving ocean.
More than 240 participants shared their thoughts, highlighting a consistent set of pressing concerns that the UNOC must address to foster progress towards a vibrant marine future. These concerns were shared at a Town Hall meeting at the One Ocean Science Congress immediately preceding UNOC.
Key Concerns Echoed Worldwide
Across diverse regions and communities, from California to the Caribbean, West Africa to the Western Indian Ocean, and coastal cities to Indigenous communities in Taiwan, several key themes emerged:
- Emphasis on Marine Pollution and Ecosystem Protection: The urgent need to tackle marine pollution, improve waste management, and prioritize protecting and restoring marine ecosystems and biodiversity was a consistently high priority.
- Leadership from Communities, Local Actors, and Indigenous Peoples: Participants stressed the fundamental importance of actively engaging local communities, Indigenous groups, and early-career ocean professionals (ECOPs) in ocean governance and decision-making processes.
- Calls for Enhanced Collaboration and Inclusivity: A strong call for increased collaboration – whether regional, international, or interdisciplinary – resonated throughout the sessions. Participants advocated for more inclusive processes that genuinely consider diverse perspectives, particularly those often excluded from formal UN dialogues.
- Addressing the Pervasive Threat of Climate Change: The profound impacts of climate change and the critical need for effective adaptation and mitigation strategies were widely recognized as significant concerns.
- Valuing Local Knowledge and Indigenous Knowledge: The importance of appropriately considering traditional Indigenous knowledge and local expertise with academic research was deemed essential for a more comprehensive understanding of marine ecosystems and their relationship with local communities.
Recognizing Diverse Regional Needs: The sessions underscored that each region faces unique challenges and opportunities shaped by local contexts. Examples include Taiwan’s exclusion from UN processes despite its maritime importance, and Nigeria’s limitations in ocean observation infrastructure.
Regional Spotlights: A Glimpse into Diverse Priorities
While common themes prevailed, each listening session also highlighted specific regional priorities and challenges:
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, participants prioritized understanding and combating marine pollution, alongside protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. They also highlight the blue economy’s benefits and necessary precautions for supporting renewable energy industries, ensuring local consultations to protect coastal communities’ rights, while encouraging better human-ocean relationships, bridging international discussions with local agendas. Finally, participants consider it crucial to integrate diverse perspectives in UNOC’s transformation of marine understanding and advocating for inclusive high-level discussions, ensuring representation of marginalized communities while stressing the need for transparency in industry accountability, particularly in discussing nature-based climate solutions facing scalability issues due to financial constraints, and highlighting the environmental injustices against marginalized populations.
- The Western Indian Ocean sessions emphasized the need for improved governance and collaboration, inclusivity and equity (particularly gender equality and youth empowerment), enhanced ocean literacy, addressing climate change vulnerability, protecting marine ecosystems, and tackling pollution and waste management. Strategic priorities for the UNOC included ecosystem restoration, inclusive governance, regional collaboration, innovative financing, and bolstering science and education.
- In Taiwan, early career ocean professionals (ECOPs), Indigenous youth, and young ocean educators all ranked marine pollution and ecosystem protection as top concerns. A significant finding was that over 60% of ECOPs and Indigenous youth were unaware of the UN Ocean Decade, largely due to Taiwan’s exclusion from formal UN processes. Participants strongly advocated for the meaningful inclusion of Taiwan’s marine expertise in international dialogues.
- Nigerian researchers highlighted significant challenges in ocean research, including limited monitoring infrastructure, fragmented efforts, habitat destruction, and pollution, compounded by climate change impacts. They proposed investment in technology, interdisciplinary collaboration, international partnerships, and the integration of Indigenous knowledge as key solutions.
- Students and researchers from the University of California at Santa Cruz Coastal Science and Policy Program called for a stronger, more explicit focus on climate change (both mitigation and adaptation), greater consideration of ecological tipping points, and increased specificity in addressing conference priorities. They also emphasized the need for deep-sea protection, equity, decision-making authority for Indigenous and under-represented groups, transparency in ocean finance, and a better understanding of the impacts of ocean economies.
An Urgent Call for Inclusive Action
The collective message from these global listening sessions is clear: the path to a healthy and vibrant ocean requires a more inclusive, collaborative, and responsive approach. The UN Ocean Conference serves as a pivotal moment to not only acknowledge these diverse voices but to translate their concerns and insights into concrete, impactful actions. Volarizing local and Indigenous knowledge systems, ensuring equitable participation in decision-making, and fostering genuine collaboration across all levels are paramount. As the world looks towards solutions for our shared ocean, the experiences and wisdom from those on the frontlines of marine conservation and community stewardship offer invaluable guidance. Continued dialogue and decisive action, informed by these grassroots perspectives, will be essential to achieve the sustainable development goals that depend on a thriving marine environment.
Read a more detailed summary of findings from the Ocean KAN Listening Sessions.
