The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) was held from June 9-13 in Nice, France. Waterspirit’s Executive Director, Blair Nelsen, attended the conference on behalf of our sponsors, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace (CSJP). This was her second time attending the Ocean Conference, after UNOC2 in Lisbon.
Overview
Overall, the conference proceedings demonstrated progress on several key ocean campaigns. 50 countries have ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty (BBNJ) and many more have promised to do so by the end of the year, signaling that this treaty is likely to enter into force by next year. More countries have publicly supported the need for a precautionary pause (or moratorium) on deep sea mining. More attention was given to the ocean as a cross-cutting issue between the UN biodiversity and climate change talks, which Brazil and France underscored by issuing a “Blue NDC challenge” to incorporate ocean policies into national climate change goals. The scale of the plastics crisis was also discussed at length— including warnings about ghost gear and false recycling “solutions”— indicating that there may finally be progress toward a binding international plastics treaty when talks resume in August. However, too little attention was given to human rights throughout the conference proceedings, as well as to the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and governance of Marine Protected Areas as member states move toward their goal to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 (a goal referred to as 30x30).
Faith in the Ocean
Waterspirit’s Blair Nelsen attended this conference with an international coalition of faith-based organizations called “Faith in the Ocean”. Members of this coalition have been mobilizing in the ocean space since UNOC1 in New York in 2017, and the interest of faith groups in the Ocean Conference has only continued to grow. Ahead of this conference, this coalition launched the Faith in the Ocean declaration on World Water Day (March 22). By World Ocean Day (June 8), over 100 organizations and 450 individuals had endorsed the declaration, representing all of the world’s major religions traditions and every continent (except Antarctica). The declaration and its endorsements were shared with the UNOC Secretariat, the Special Envoy for the Ocean, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to a Healthy Environment, and the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Representatives of faith-based organizations meet with Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (in blue, in the center of the back row), on the final day of the conference.
Faith in the Ocean also organized an official in-person side event by the same name. This event was held at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church on June 11. The event featured coalition members Pedro Walpole (RAOEN), Vincent Anesthesiar (Claretian Missionaries), and Valeriane Bernard (Brahma Kumaris) sharing why ocean protection is important from their faith perspectives, as well as their experiences working with impacted communities across the globe. Blair served as moderator. To practice what we preach, the event also included a contemplative moment to connect with the ocean on a deeper level. A recording of this event will be available soon.
Expanding the Message’s Reach
The messages of Faith in the Ocean were amplified during a two-minute intervention that Blair delivered to the plenary on June 12. These remarks were also delivered on behalf of the CSJP and the NGO Mining Working Group. A recording of those remarks are available on YouTube as well as on UNTV (scroll to the 3:15:49 mark).
This plenary statement was highlighted in National Catholic Reporter’s weekly newsletter, EarthBeat.
Stronger Together
The faith-based movement for ocean protection was stronger than ever before at UNOC3. Faiths for UNOC3 also published a multifaith declaration (endorsed by the CSJP) and mobilized faith representatives to attend the conference. They have published a series of policy briefings on their website as well. An overview of the collective faith movement at the conference was shared in this article in National Catholic Reporter. Blair had an opportunity to share some personal reflections about Laudato Si’ and water at the Faiths for UNOC3 sponsored event, Laudato Si’ and Al-Mizan: Catholic and Islamic Approaches to Ocean Stewardship.
Blair also had an opportunity to moderate a virtual side event (a.k.a. webinar) about the dangers of Deep Sea Mining on behalf of the water committee of the NGO Mining Working Group, of which she is chair. Hosting an event on this theme has become a rather unfortunate tradition when Blair attends a UN conference— unfortunate because it means we have not seen member states enact a much-needed moratorium yet! This event was called “Disturbance in the Deep: a Rights-Based and Values-Based Approach to Deep Sea Conservation”. It featured the highly-knowledgeable Andrew Whitmore (Deep Sea Mining Campaign), Bobbi-Jo Dobush (DSM expert), and Rev. James Bhagwan (Pacific Conference of Churches). The recording and shared resources can be found on YouTube.
Of course, this conference also involved creating new connections with UN representatives from across the globe, including UN officials, Indigenous water protectors, scientists, staff from other environmental nonprofits, academics, and journalists. It was energizing to see around 1,000 people join the Blue March before the conference even began, setting the tone for the proceedings and reminding the member states that their constituents are watching to make sure they represent the people’s and the ocean’s best interests.
More Information and Next Steps
The Ocean Conference was an excellent reminder that the ocean must be taken into consideration across all UN proceedings, and not siloed into one week of activity. The Sustainable Development Goal that is related to the ocean, SDG14, will be under review at the upcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York in July. In preparation for that conference, the NGO Mining Working Group is inviting everyone to a preparatory webinar linking UNOC3 with the HLPF, called “Tides of Transformation: Aligning SDG14 Actions from Nice to New York”. This webinar will be held on July 9 at 10 a.m. Register here.
