The 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference was recently held in Nice, France, being co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, being opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and by French President Emmanuel Macron, who both stressed the need to put a stop to the ‘plunder’ of our seas and that the ocean ‘is not for sale’. UNOC3 follows in the steps of the first UNOC, held in 2017 in New York and of UNOC2, held in 2022 in Lisbon, with the next such high-profile UN conference being slated for 2028 in South Korea.
A number of landmark agreements and actions have been forged in Nice, namely the entry into force of the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty, which seeks to safeguard biodiversity assets within that part of the ocean which extends beyond the reaches of any national jurisdiction (i.e. the high seas).
Malta in fact deposited, through Foreign Minister Dr Ian Borg, its instrument of ratification for such an agreement in Nice. Other important initiatives which were ushered in included the Nice Ocean Action Plan, comprised of a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from stakeholders as well as the EU’s Ocean Pact, which incorporates a vast array of ambitious measures, such as reducing plastic litter in the ocean by 50% and nutrient losses by 50% by 2030, increasing the footprint of protected marine areas in European seas to 30%, of which 10% is strictly protected as well as the fact that at least 20% of the EU’s sea areas must be restored by 2030 & all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The ultimate ambition is to translate, with EU Member States support, the Ocean Pact into a binding Act by 2027. A strident call was also made to unlock further financing for SDG14 (Life beneath the waves), given that this is the least-funded, to date, of all SDGs.
Malta’s first-ever Ocean Ambassador, Prof. Alan Deidun, resident academic within the Department of Geosciences of the Faculty of Science, was part of the Maltese delegation to UNOC3, which also featured Malta’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Ambassador Vanessa Frazier.
Prof. Deidun in fact delivered a brief speech within Ocean Action Panel 2, which focused on the importance of education, by stressing the need for the development and adoption of more ocean literacy tools, including citizen science and digital amenities, as well as a higher degree of support for European University Alliances (including the SEA-EU one, of which the UM is part) and for the Blue School network.
Prof. Deidun also participated within Ocean Action Panel 4, which focused on the mitigation of marine pollution, where he had the opportunity to meet the Coordinator of the Mediterranean Action Plan within UNEP-MAP. Dr Tatjana Hema, as well as the Chair of the Restore our Ocean and Waters 2030 Mission Pascal Lamy.
Further information about the UNOC3 can be gleaned online.
Prof. Deidun’s intervention can be followed online.
A number of landmark agreements and actions have been forged in Nice, namely the entry into force of the High Seas (BBNJ) Treaty, which seeks to safeguard biodiversity assets within that part of the ocean which extends beyond the reaches of any national jurisdiction (i.e. the high seas).
Malta in fact deposited, through Foreign Minister Dr Ian Borg, its instrument of ratification for such an agreement in Nice. Other important initiatives which were ushered in included the Nice Ocean Action Plan, comprised of a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from stakeholders as well as the EU’s Ocean Pact, which incorporates a vast array of ambitious measures, such as reducing plastic litter in the ocean by 50% and nutrient losses by 50% by 2030, increasing the footprint of protected marine areas in European seas to 30%, of which 10% is strictly protected as well as the fact that at least 20% of the EU’s sea areas must be restored by 2030 & all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The ultimate ambition is to translate, with EU Member States support, the Ocean Pact into a binding Act by 2027. A strident call was also made to unlock further financing for SDG14 (Life beneath the waves), given that this is the least-funded, to date, of all SDGs.
Malta’s first-ever Ocean Ambassador, Prof. Alan Deidun, resident academic within the Department of Geosciences of the Faculty of Science, was part of the Maltese delegation to UNOC3, which also featured Malta’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Ambassador Vanessa Frazier.
Prof. Deidun in fact delivered a brief speech within Ocean Action Panel 2, which focused on the importance of education, by stressing the need for the development and adoption of more ocean literacy tools, including citizen science and digital amenities, as well as a higher degree of support for European University Alliances (including the SEA-EU one, of which the UM is part) and for the Blue School network.
Prof. Deidun also participated within Ocean Action Panel 4, which focused on the mitigation of marine pollution, where he had the opportunity to meet the Coordinator of the Mediterranean Action Plan within UNEP-MAP. Dr Tatjana Hema, as well as the Chair of the Restore our Ocean and Waters 2030 Mission Pascal Lamy.
Further information about the UNOC3 can be gleaned online.
Prof. Deidun’s intervention can be followed online.
