IIED at the UN Ocean Conference 2025

What was the UN Ocean Conference?

The UN Ocean Conference brought together governments, international organisations, the private sector, scientists, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and other key actors to accelerate action on SDG14: the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas and marine resources.

The conference aimed to strengthen partnerships, assess progress and identify practical solutions for ocean health and resilience. It built on previous conferences held in New York (2017) and Lisbon (2022), advancing global efforts to protect marine ecosystems and support sustainable ocean-based development.

Through dialogue and collaboration, the conference supported the implementation of international commitments and mobilised action for a fair, effective and sustainable ocean future.

Events (Nice, France)

Friday 13 June

Strengthening coastal stewardship: from tools to action

Side event

Venue: Ocean Sustainability: Trade and Blue Food House
Hosted by: IIED
Organising partners: Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries (Zanzibar), The World Bank, WorldFish, Rare, Comunidad y Biodiversidad, Mwambao, FAO

Speakers include: Mondy Muhando, Zanzibar Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries; Rocky Sanchez Tirona, Rare; Stuart Fulton, Comunidad y Bioversidad; Sakhile Tsotsobe, Mwambao Coastal Community Network; Samiya Selim, Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; Manuel Barange, FAO.

Coastal communities – especially small-scale fishers and fish workers – play a critical role in sustaining ocean health, supporting biodiversity and contributing to global food and nutrition security. Yet they are too often expected to shoulder the costs of conservation and management efforts, while benefits flow elsewhere.

This session featured a discussion led by IIED and partners on how using practical, evidence-based tools to enable and incentivise coastal stewardship can ensure sustainability is a shared responsibility, not an imposed cost.

Further reading: Incentives for coastal conservation and fisheries management; Connecting social protection with fisheries management and conservation; Understanding and managing the overseas impacts of UK food systems transformation; Harmful subsidies reduce effectiveness of fish poo as a carbon sink, analysis suggests

Tuesday 10 June

Indigenous Peoples, their voices and coastal ecosystems

Side event

Venue: Blue Zone room 4, Amiral Infernet, 06300, Nice
Hosted by: World Bank, United Arab Emirates
Organising partners: Mangrove Alliance for Climate; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO; Abya Yala Indigenous Forum (FIAY); Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP); African Communities Resource Rights Alliance (ACCRA); Indigenous Peoples Network of Southern Africa (IPNeSA)
Speakers include: Milika Sobey, Women in Fisheries Network; HE Dr Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak Al Shamsi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Tove Goldmann, PROBLUE; Dianna Pizarro, World Bank, Annabelle Bladon, IIED; James Teri, Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources

Twenty-seven million indigenous people rely on the ocean and its resources for their identity, livelihoods, and food and nutrition security. Despite their connection, dependance and traditional knowledge, they remain underrepresented in the blue economy discourse, ocean governance and resource management.  

This forum presented regional profiles, led by indigenous researchers from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, highlighting Indigenous Peoples’ roles, good practices, challenges and aspirations. It focused on mangroves with its vital importance for coastal communities, biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation. It also explored how social protection and jobs interventions can support policy reform and effective resource management, drawing on indigenous knowledge.

Further reading: Connecting social protection with fisheries management and conservation