First Ocean Decade International Coastal Cities Conference: Better Ocean, Better City

The opening and closing segments will be livestreamed.

Co-designing ocean science to strengthen the ocean’s contribution to the sustainable develop­ment of coastal cities.

Hosted by the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government in collaboration with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO), the first Ocean Decade International Coastal Cities Conference will convene in Qingdao, China, in February 2025.

Building upon the momentum and outcomes of the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, this conference will mark a pivotal moment in accelerating action for the newly launched “Cities with the Ocean” Platform and be a major step towards the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference and the planned pre-Conference special event on ‘Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience’.

This two-day, in-person conference will gather 150-200 key stakeholders from coastal cities and territories globally to facilitate knowledge exchange, showcase best practices, and foster collaboration and partnerships to address the challenges and opportunities in generating and using ocean science for sustainable development.

The challenges confronting coastal communities are vast, but together we can build the collective action to make a difference and drive forward the sustainable future of our coastal cities!

About the First International Ocean Decade Coastal Cities Conference

Coastal cities are among the fastest-growing human settlements in the world. They are on the frontline to benefit from the growth of a sustainable ocean economy, but also to face escalating threats from climate change, ocean pollution, and other environmental risks. The Ocean Decade presents a unique opportunity to harness ocean science and knowledge to address these challenges, enhance the resilience of coastal cities to global change, and improve the living conditions and well-being of their inhabitants.

To bridge key stakeholders of urban coastal territories with the Ocean Decade community, the Cities with the Ocean Platform was inaugurated during the 2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference, along with the offer of Qingdao Municipality to host the first Ocean Decade Coastal Cities Conference in 2025.

As the first-ever Ocean Decade International Coastal Cities Conference and the first major event for the community of the coastal cities after the official launch of the Cities with the Ocean Platform, the Conference aims to bring together the community and provide aforum for synergies and exchanges. Specifically, the Conference will:

• Provide an opportunity for more coastal cities, ports, Decade Actions, and other relevant stakeholders to join and support the Platform and get involved in its organisation and development.

• Facilitate knowledge exchange and experience sharing on themes aligned with the Ocean Decade Challenges that are relevant to coastal cities, including climate change, marine pollution, marine biodiversity, blue economy, and ocean literacy, to inform a better science-policy-society interface locally, nationally, and globally.

• Showcase and share best practices in adaptive governance and resource management tools for assessing and mitigating the vulnerability and risk of coastal cities.

• Catalyze new partnerships and flagship initiatives while leveraging existing partnerships and initiatives to foster synergies to strengthen coastal city resilience, and enhance their capacity to meet evolving need.

• Build a consensus among the coastal cities, ports, and other relevant stakeholders on strengthening partnerships on the co-design and co-delivery of science-based solutions and best practices, and launching a statement/declaration as a major outcome of the Conference.

• Foster global dialogue on the promotion of sustainable development of coastal cities, and contribute to the key discussions on ocean and coastal city sustainability at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica, including the pre-Conference special event on ‘Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience’.

Hosts:

Qingdao Municipal People’s Government in collaboration with UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

Organizers:

• Qingdao West Coast New Area Management Committee
• The Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center in China

Supporting Parties:

• Oceanic Administration of Shandong Province
• Qingdao Municipal Marine Development Bureau
• First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, China
• UN Decade Collaborative Centre on Ocean-Climate Nexus and Coordination Amongst Decade Implementing Partners in P.R. China (DCC-OCC)

If you have any questions related to the conference, please contact us at: oceandecade.comms@unesco.org

Programme

All times are in China Standard Time (UTC+8)

08:00 – 09:00: CHECK-IN AND ARRIVAL

09:00 – 11:40: OPENING SEGMENT

• 09:00 – 09:25: Welcome and Opening remarks. Chaired by Ren Gang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee and Mayor of Qingdao. Speakers include: Zeng Zanrong, Secretary of the Qingdao Municipal Party Committee; Chen Danhong,  Director General of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Natural Resources, China; Julian Barbière, Head of Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, UNESCO-IOC and Global coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade; Ashok Adicéam, Deputy Special Envoy – UNOC General Delegate for France.
• 09:25 – 09:35: “Cities with the Ocean” Platform Annual Progress Report. Alison Clausen, Programme Specialist at the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, UNESCO-IOC and Deputy Coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade.
• 09:35 – 09:50: Introduction of New Members and Partners of “Cities with the Ocean” Platform. Basil Angaga, Co-chair of the Cities with the Ocean Platform; Clara R. Solé, Internationalization &Science Diplomacy Manager.
• 09:50 – 10:00: Youth Engagement Session.
• 10:00 – 10:30: Coffee break.
• 10:30 – 11:40: Azure Whispers, Urban Resonance. Chaired by Alison Clausen, Programme Specialist at the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, UNESCO-IOC and Deputy Coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade. Speakers include: Wang Qingyuan, Deputy Secretary of CPC Qingdao West Coast New Area Work Committee, District Mayor of Qingdao West Coast New Area; Terence Crea, Director of the Department of Blue Economy, Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, Seychelles; Olivier Bettati, UN Ocean Conference Representative in Nice; Ronaldo Christofeletti, Federal University of Sao Paolo, Brazil; Basil Angaga, Chief Sustainability Officer, County Government of Mombasa; Vladimir Ryabinin, Former Executive Secretary of UNESCO-IOC;

12:00 – 14:00: LUNCH BREAK

14:00 – 15:30: SESSION 1: ADAPTATION, MITIGATION, RESILIENCE: RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

• 14:00 – 14:05: Introduction. Co-chaired by Theophile Bongarts, Head of Coastal Adaptation at the Ocean and Climate Platform, and Li Jianping, Dean of Academy of Future Ocean of Ocean University of China, Director of Center for Ocean Carbon Neutrality of Ocean University of China.
• 14:05 – 14:15: Science-based Toolkit for Coastal Cities, with Qiao Fangli, Member of Academia Europaea, Deputy Director General of the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, China.
• 14:15 – 14:25: Multi Hazards Resilient Coastal Cities and Sustainable Economy, with Cecilia Bittoni, Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience.
• 14:25 – 14:35: Proactively Addressing Climate Change for a Sustainable and Bright Future Together, with Peng Zheng, Director of Convention Implementation Division III (Implementation of the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants) of Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China.
• 14:35 – 14:45: Mainstreaming Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction into Urban Planning, with Harkunti Rahayu, Institute Technology of Bandung, Indonesia.
• 14:45 – 15:00: Interactive session and wrap-up by co-chairs.

15:30 – 15:50: COFFEE BREAK

15:30 – 17: 20: SESSION 2: BEATING MARINE POLLUTION AND PROTECTING MARINE BIODIVERSITY THROUGH COASTAL ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT

• 15:50 – 15:55: Introduction. Co-chaired by Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Head of IOTWMS Secretariat, UNESCO-IOC, and Yan Xiaojun, Party Secretary and Professor at Zhejiang Ocean University.
• 15:55 – 16:05: The New Stage, New Issues, and New Models of China’s Marine Spatial Planning Development, with Yue Qi, Director of Marine Resource and Environment Research Institute, National Ocean Technology Center.
• 16:05 – 16:15: Design and construction of green works used in the mitigation of coastal erosion (video with Carlos Andrés Ríos Puerta, DAGRAN Director and Vladimir Toro Valencia, Technical Leader of PIMECLA.)
• 16:15 – 16:25: Harnessing the Power of Genes to Build the Foundation for Marine Ecological Protection, with Wang Jian, Chairman of the Board, Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) Group.
• 16:25 – 16:35: Tale of Two Cities : Importance of Coastal Community Participation, with Nimit Kumar J, International Consultant, IOCINDIO/Regional Liaison.
• 16:35 – 17: 20: Interactive session and wrap-up by co-chairs.

09:00 – 10:30: SESSION 3: DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY IN COASTAL CITIES.

• 9:00 – 9:05: Introduction. Co-chaired by Hu Zhenyu, Deputy Director of Qianhai Branch of China Development Institute and Director of Institute for Sustainable Development and Marine Economy, and Terence Crea, Director of the Department of Blue Economy, Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, Seychelles.
• 9:05 – 9:15: Ports Make Cities More Convenient, with Zhang Baohua, Deputy Party Secretary and Director of Shandong Port Group Qingdao Port, General Manager of Shandong Port Group Qingdao Port International Co., Ltd..
• 9:15 – 9:25: Developing Madagascar’s blue economy (video), with Andriantsilavo Rabary, Director of Blue Economy, Madagascar.
• 9:25 – 9:35: Current situation and prospect of marine ranching construction in China, with Yang Hongsheng, Professor of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• 9:35 – 9:45: Geophysical data to support sustainable blue economies in coastal cities, with Nelly Florida Riama, Deputy Head of Geophysics, BMKG, Indonesia.
• 9:45 – 10:30 Interactive session and wrap-up by co-chairs.

10:30 – 10:50: COFFEE BREAK

10:50 – 12:20: SESSION 4: OCEAN LITERACY AND EDUCATION FOR COASTAL CITIZENS AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

• 10:50 – 10:55: Introduction. Co-chaired by Liu Jie, Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum of China, and Ronaldo Christofeletti, Federal University of Sao Paolo, Brazil.
• 10:55 – 11:05: Enhancing Ocean Literacy: Awareness and Action, with Zhang Zhanhai, Former Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Chairman of the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association.
• 11:05 – 11:15: Resilient Cities and Design, with Ashley Hall, Royal College of Art, London.
• 11:15 – 11:25: Promoting Blue Citizen Community for Ocean Literacy Enhancement and Ocean Benefits Improvement, with Liu Zhenghua, Chief Scientist of APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center, Professor at the Third Institute of Oceanography of Ministry of Natural Resources, China.
• 11:25 – 11:35: Connecting people and ocean: the role of coastal cities, with Valentina Lovat, Associate Programme Specialist, UNESCO-IOC.
• 11:35 – 12:20: Interactive session and wrap-up by co-chairs.

12:20 – 14:00: LUNCH BREAK

• Lunch side event: Coastal Cities Facing Sea-Level Rise and Tsunami Threats, organised by UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Section and co-Chaired by Prof. Harkunti P Rahayu and Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala.

This session will examine the challenges coastal cities face due to tsunamis and other ocean-related hazards, including sea level rise, showcase advancements in tsunami early warning systems and community preparedness, and explore opportunities for integrating tsunami warning systems into broader multi-hazard early warning frameworks, build partnerships with the “Cities with the Ocean” platform for enhancing community resilience to ocean hazards through programs such as UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready. Speakers include:

• Dr. Yuelong Miao, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Dr. Usama Kadri, Cardiff University
• Dr. Constance Ting Chua, Tohoku University
• Dr. Erick Mas, Tohoku University

14:00 – 15:30: PARTNERSHIPS, RESOURCES, AND CAPACITY-BUILDING

• 14:00 – 14:05: Introduction. Co-chaired by Julian Barbière, Head of Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, UNESCO-IOC and Global Coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade, and Wang Antao, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Natural Resources, China.
• 14:05 – 14:15: Build partnerships, promote the culture of harmony and unity, and advance the sustainable development of the oceans, with Pan Xinchun, Deputy President and Secretary General of China Oceanic Development Foundation and Director of Maritime Silk Road Ocean Development Research Institute.
• 14:15 – 14:25: Water Values: New Tools and Methods for Capacity Building, with Kaiyi Zhu, UNESCO Chair Water, Ports and Historic Cities, and Delft University of Technology.
• 14:25 – 14:35: Strengthening Partnerships and Capacity Building to Jointly Build a Community with a Shared Future for Global Coastal Cities, with Zhao Yali, Vice Chair of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation.
• 14:35 – 14:45: Ocean Cities an international network of cities in harmony with the marine environment, with Clara R. Solé, Internationalization and Science Diplomacy Manager.
• 14:45 – 15:30: Interactive session and wrap-up by co-chairs.

16:00 – 17:00: CLOSING SEGMENT. Co-chaired by Alison Clausen, Programme Specialist at the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, UNESCO-IOC and Deputy Coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade, and Dr. Wei Zheng, Executive Director of the Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center, China.

• 16:00 – 16:30: Special session: Leading up to the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, including the launch of the Conference outcomes and actions to inform UNOC 2025 and the pre-UNOC special event entitled ‘Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience’. Speakers: Sebastien Scutca, Special Advisor to the Mayor of Nice; Theophile Bongarts, Head of Coastal Adaptation at the Ocean and Climate Platform.
• 16:40 – 16:50: Closing speeches.
• 16:50 – 17:00: Release of the Qingdao Declaration.

The opening and closing segments will be livestreamed.