The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, issuing a collective call for bold, science-backed action to safeguard the planet’s most vital resource — the ocean.
NICE, FRANCE – As rising seas, warming waters, and shrinking fish stocks threaten global stability, world leaders converged today in Nice for the opening of the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, issuing a collective call for bold, science-backed action to safeguard the planet’s most vital resource — the ocean. The summit, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, comes at a make-or-break moment for marine ecosystems and coastal nations, especially those across Southeast Asia, where millions depend on the sea for food, livelihood, and climate resilience.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
“We Can Turn the Tide”: Hope Amid Oceanic Crisis
Standing before delegates from 193 countries, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that hope remains — but only through unified, urgent action.
“We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope… Hope that we can turn the tide,” Guterres said in his opening address.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the revitalization of multilateralism behind the UN, while Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles stressed the moral and economic imperative to treat ocean protection not as an option, but as an obligation.
The conference marks the third UN Ocean Summit and sets the stage for adopting the Nice Ocean Action Plan — a high-level political declaration coupled with a registry of voluntary commitments aimed at restoring marine health for future generations.
Asia at the Frontline: Why the Stakes Are Highest for the Region
For coastal and archipelagic nations in Asia — such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and small island states in the Pacific — the outcomes of this conference are more than symbolic. They are existential.
The ocean sustains food security, livelihoods, and climate stability for over two billion people in Asia-Pacific. But with escalating marine heatwaves, plastic pollution, and overfishing, many communities now face environmental and economic collapse.
“The Philippines, Indonesia, and Pacific island states aren’t just stakeholders — they are frontliners in the battle to protect our ocean,” noted one observer from the High Seas Alliance.
Key Issues on the Table
The five-day summit will spotlight a range of critical topics:
1. High Seas Treaty Ratification
The Marine Biodiversity Treaty, adopted in 2023, seeks to regulate and protect two-thirds of international waters beyond national jurisdiction. Yet only 29 countries have ratified it — far short of the 60 needed for enforcement. With many Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, still pending ratification, the conference has become a flashpoint for accelerating signatures and avoiding geopolitical marginalization.
2. Combatting Illegal and Unregulated Fishing
Asia’s seas are some of the most overfished in the world. The conference urges the adoption of science-based, community-led fisheries management, particularly in nations like Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand, where declining fish stocks imperil food systems.
3.Protecting 30% of the Ocean by 2030
The Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework commits nations to protect 30% of oceans and coastal ecosystems. Southeast Asian marine biodiversity hotspots — from the Coral Triangle to the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas — are key to achieving this global target.
4. Decarbonizing Maritime Transport
As a hub for shipping lanes, Singapore, Malaysia, and China are central to the push for electrified ports and zero-emission fuels. Maritime emissions currently contribute up to 3% of global carbon pollution.
5. Ending Plastic Pollution
With many Asian rivers acting as superhighways for ocean-bound plastic, the upcoming August 2025 negotiations on a global plastics treaty are being closely watched.
6. Financing Blue Economies
Innovative finance mechanisms — including blended finance, philanthropic capital, and public-private partnerships— are seen as vital to supporting coastal resilience and sustainable marine industries across Asia.
7. Science and Indigenous Knowledge
Speakers emphasized the integration of Indigenous marine knowledge with cutting-edge ocean science to create effective governance frameworks. In Asia, this is particularly relevant in regions such as Papua, the Andaman Islands, and Pacific atolls.
“We need billions, not millions, in investment,” declared UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, warning against slow-moving commitments that buckle under political or economic pressure. “The time for incremental progress is over.”
With 55 heads of state and government in attendance, along with scientists, civil society, and over 450 side events, the conference underscores the breadth of global concern and the growing consensus that ocean conservation is no longer optional — it is foundational.
The Southeast Asia Imperative
While the Nice Ocean Action Plan sets a global course, its success may hinge on implementation in Southeast Asia. The region’s marine megabiodiversity, population density, and climate vulnerability make it both a bellwether and a litmus test for the global ocean agenda.
If ratified, the High Seas Treaty could significantly strengthen regional cooperation and enforcement capabilities in ASEAN’s transboundary waters. Likewise, commitments made in Nice could bolster efforts to curb illegal fishing, improve marine governance, and fund restoration projects in the region’s threatened reef systems and mangroves.
“Looking after the ocean is not simply an option. It is a moral, economic, and ecological necessity,” President Chaves Robles of Costa Rica said — a sentiment echoed across continents.
The 2025 UN Ocean Conference represents both a crisis summit and a blueprint for survival. For Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, it is a moment of reckoning and a call to lead. In the battle to save the ocean, the next five days — and the choices made within them — could shape the next five decades.
