Announced at UNOC-3, UNGSI is led by Madagascar, Indonesia, and France with supporting entities including the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC) – With UNGSI now formally launched, the seaweed sector has a unified international platform to align science, policy, finance, and markets.
NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2025 — The United Nations Global Seaweed Initiative (UNGSI) officially launched during a side event at the 80th UN General Assembly, establishing a collaborative platform to develop the seaweed sector across market, regulatory, scientific, financial, capacity-building, and advocacy areas. The initiative is spearheaded by the governments of Madagascar, Indonesia, and France, with support from UN agencies and global partners.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
A Rapidly Expanding Sector Still Lacking Support
Seaweed offers multiple, documented benefits: it contributes to food and nutrition security, creates economic value-addition including non-food diversification, improves ecosystem services, and enhances livelihoods for millions of small-scale producers, especially coastal communities and women. Uses span food, feed, fertilizer additive, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and — if commercial hurdles are overcome — potential biofuel. Seaweed can also provide fully biodegradable and compostable biomass for non-plastic substitutes and plastic alternatives. Critically, production is non-land use intensive and can act as a regenerative tool for ecosystems.
Over the past two decades, the global seaweed sector has tripled in size and doubled in value, reaching over 35 million tonnes (wet weight) and representing half of marine aquaculture production by volume, with US$1.2 billion in global export value in 2022. Despite this momentum, the sector remains under-supported and not well understood, lacking the coordination, standardization, and dedicated governance needed to fully contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From UNOC-3 to COP30: Building a Coalition
Announced at UNOC-3, UNGSI is led by Madagascar, Indonesia, and France with supporting entities including the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC), UNCTAD, FAO, UNIDO, IOC-UNESCO, and the UN Global Compact, alongside relevant private sector associations, scientific and civil society actors. Since that announcement, additional countries expressing interest include: the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Chile, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Fiji, Grenada, the Republic of South Africa, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Today’s launch bridges UNOC-3 and planned events at COP30 in Brazil, advancing a global partnership around seaweed to strengthen policy coordination, consolidate scientific efforts, expand technical capacity, and finance the sector’s sustainable development.
Co-organizers of the launch include: the Republic of Madagascar, Republic of France, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Brazil, Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC), United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), UNESCO-IOC, French National Research Center (CNRS), and the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition.
UNGSI will function as a collaborative platform to:
- Coordinate markets and standards so seaweed products meet quality, safety, and sustainability expectations;
- Support regulatory and governance frameworks aligned with SDGs;
- Catalyze scientific research and data sharing;
- Unlock financial mechanisms for sustainable industry growth;
- Build technical capacity for producers and SMEs;
- Amplify advocacy for seaweed’s role in climate resilience, ocean health, and equitable livelihoods.
Backers emphasize seaweed’s potential to contribute to SDG targets through low-land-pressure production and ecosystem regeneration, while creating value chains that benefit coastal communities and women. With global demand rising across food and non-food applications — from fertilizer additives to plastic alternatives — UNGSI aims to accelerate responsible growth with clear governance and shared standards.
Lead image courtesy of kerriekerr from Getty Images Signature (seaweed farming)
