Speakers Focus on Conserving Marine Ecosystems, as Series of Panel Discussions Begin at Ocean Conference
NICE, FRANCE, 9 June — The international community must stop using the oceans as a garbage dump, speakers at the first panel discussion of the 2025 Ocean Conference underscored, even as they expressed “cautious optimism” about the growing momentum around marine ecosystem protection, from global agreements to scientific knowhow.
The morning’s panel discussion — the first of 10 that will be held this week on the sidelines of the high-level debate — focused on: “Conserving, sustainably managing and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems including deep-sea ecosystems”. It was moderated by Kristian Teleki, Chief Executive Officer of Flora & Fauna. He highlighted the increasing political will, the suite of global frameworks and growing scientific knowledge on the ocean, adding: “We also have real-world evidence that transformative change is possible — local to global efforts […] are working and ready to be scaled.”
Opening the panel discussion, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “We, the human beings, are the only species that don’t live in a circular economy.” She highlighted the global target to protect and conserve at least 30 per cent of the world’s land, freshwater and ocean by 2030. The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction will turbocharge that goal, she said.
But conservation should not simply be about setting something aside — it is crucial to consider contiguity, representation and effective management, she added. She cited a 2017 World Bank study called “The sunken billions: the economic justification for fisheries reform”, which concluded that trawling in protected areas means essentially leaving $83 billion on the sea floor. Dismissing the idea that protection is anti-fisheries, she said that fish don’t know whether they are in a protected area or not — protection actually helps increase fish stock. She also highlighted the One Ocean Finance facility, which will help leverage new investments.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), noted that her organization’s purpose, as spelled out in its preamble, is to enhance living standards, create employment and support sustainable development. She highlighted the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at its twelfth Ministerial Conference on 17 June 2022 — it prohibits harmful fisheries subsidies. Currently at 101 ratifications, the agreement is “only 10 short” of entering into force, she noted.
Further, WTO has also launched a fund to support least developed countries manage their fisheries by providing technical assistance. The blue economy is worth $2.6 trillion and it is crucial to help poor coastal countries unleash the power of that. But there is potential to unlock much more. “We have trillions of dollars in subsidies, doing the wrong thing”, she pointed out. It is crucial to repurpose fuel subsidies and other harmful subsidies towards protecting marine ecosystems and climate change action.
“This is not a crisis of knowledge. We know enough to act,” stressed Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conversation of Nature. Coral reefs are under pressure and a third of shark species face extinction. Highlighting the first of three priorities, she called for “ecosystem integrity”. While the international community must come together to protect 30 per cent of oceans, it needs to sustainably manage 100 per cent of the oceans, she said.
Next, the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction needs to enter into force. Without this treaty, reaching the 30 per cent target will just not be possible, she said. She also stressed the need for innovative financing through blue bonds, redirecting harmful subsidies and the implementation of the One Ocean Finance facility.
Peter de Menocal, President and Director for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, stressed the need to turn knowledge into action, adding that scientists should be more than just experts, they should make complex science legible and link discoveries to solutions. He cited the example of the emerging science on the ocean twilight zone. “This vast and dimly lit midwater region” — once largely invisible to science and policy — is increasingly a site of collaboration, he said, as scientists explore its influence on marine food webs and climate regulations.
He also noted that oceans are increasingly visible at the heart of climate negotiations. Exploring the ocean’s deep carbon potential is key, but independent science has to lead the effort to make sure it is harnessed responsibly. His institution is conceiving a global network of ocean sensors that will monitor ocean health, he said. This will allow the design and delivery of nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans. Oceans have the largest potential for scalable climate change solutions, he pointed out.
“How do we make this happen?” asked Marc Benioff, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Salesforce and Board Member of the World Economic Forum. He noted that he is also the founder of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory. So much comes down to innovation, creativity and new ideas, he said, noting that the extraordinary technologies of the day provide potential for a new era of “ecopreneurship”. Big wins such as the Paris Climate Accords can be followed by setbacks, he said, noting that ocean advocates are exhausted because it often feels like one step forward, two steps backward.
Having seen many political administrations come and go, he said, he learned that it is possible to agree on something or the other with every administration. Noting that he worked with the first Trump Administration in the United States on the “trillion tree initiative”, he said he is now focusing on practical steps to restore coral reefs. “We need more CEOS,” ecopreneurs and venture capitalists to be part of the ocean movement, he said, adding that “every company can be an ocean company”. He also highlighted the role of artificial intelligence to tackle illegal fishing and connect investors with ocean projects.
The panel was co-chaired by Stavros Papastavrou, Minister for the Environment and Energy of Greece, and Marina Silva, Minister for Environment and Climate Change of Brazil. Moetai Charles Brotherson, President of French Polynesia and Tiago Pitta e Cuñha, Chief Executive Officer of Oceano Azul Foundation offered additional remarks as lead discussants. The panel was followed by an interactive discussion featuring representatives of Member States as well as civil society speakers.