With the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference just three months away, 80 newly endorsed Decade Actions are expanding the global Ocean Decade portfolio – now over 700 strong – driving ocean science in priority action areas across all ocean basins.
Discover the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions here.
How does night-time light disrupt the deep, and what secrets can soundwaves unlock underwater? How can we make ocean knowledge accessible for Deaf and visually impaired communities, and could humanity one day live on the ocean’s surface due to land shortage?
From niche research to big-picture solutions, the 80 new Decade Actions cover a wide range of topics, including ocean prediction and coastal resilience to sustainable fisheries, ecosystem restoration, inclusive offshore renewable designs, and ocean journalism. Spanning 29 countries – from Chile and Indonesia to Pakistan, Malta, and Togo – they are primarily led by governmental and research institutions, as well as non-governmental and educational organizations.
“With the 2025 UN Ocean Conference on the horizon, this new wave of Actions is pushing the boundaries of marine science and scaling up global impact across the ten Ocean Decade Challenges,” said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC). “These initiatives are driving innovation in ocean sustainability, fostering knowledge exchange, and promoting collaboration and partnerships, including by giving a louder voice to underrepresented groups. Today, with over 700 initiatives across 76 countries, the Ocean Decade is building a future where ocean-based solutions lead the way.”
Addressing key challenges in ocean science
Twenty-one of the newly endorsed Projects will be hosted by Ocean Decade Programmes led by UNESCO-IOC. These Projects address diverse issues, such as sharing sea culture with younger generations and disabled communities, mitigating and adapting to tsunamis, and promoting sustainable coastal and marine tourism.
Among these, 14 Decade Projects under the Ocean Decade Programme on Sustainable Ocean Planning offer solutions to the growing dilemma of balancing marine resource use with ecosystem health. Selected through a call led by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, the Projects are tackling this challenge head-on through cutting-edge approaches – from sustainable fisheries management to reducing underwater noise pollution through vessel slowdowns and rerouting. Amid a growing world population and limited resources, some initiatives explore innovations such as floating islands and combining on- and off-grid wind farms with hydrogen production.
Under the lead of Decade Programme Marine Life 2030, seven newly endorsed Projects are stepping up to restore, protect, and understand marine ecosystems. By rebuilding coral reefs, safeguarding ocean giants, and fostering coastal stewardship, these initiatives deliver knowledge on ocean life to those who need it most.
Early career ocean professionals are the next generation of ocean leaders, and will carry on the legacy of the Ocean Decade beyond 2030. Four Projects are advancing the ECOP Programme by empowering young activists with the skills, tools, and networks to drive marine sustainability. Through blockchain-driven innovation and hands-on marine research, these Projects tackle global disparities in capacities and infrastructure, with a focus on the Global South and island nations.
Building knowledge and capacity for global ocean observing
In addition to new Projects, four Decade Contributions have received official endorsement to support the implementation of the Ocean Decade. They will provide funding or in-kind resources to advance the global digital ocean ecosystem, the ocean-human health nexus, marine conservation, and science communication.
The Contributions include two new Decade Implementing Partners to strengthen the work of the Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Observing (DCO-OO):
- The Center for Ocean Leadership brings extensive expertise and a strong network to facilitate collaboration, co-design, and capacity building on global ocean observing. It will support the DCO-OO by leveraging its network of affiliates and partners, organizing strategic convenings, and raising awareness around observation-related topics.
- Ocean Networks Canada is stepping in to drive progress in ocean intelligence, Indigenous data sovereignty, and global ocean monitoring. Its top-tier skills, combined with fair and open data sharing, enhance global fit-for-purpose ocean observing capacity.
The next Call for Decade Actions No. 09/2025 will be open from 15 April to 31 August 2025. New Programmes, Projects, and Contributions will be solicited to engage in co-designing transformative ocean science and fill identified gaps in sustainable ocean management. More information will be available soon.
Discover the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions here.
For more information, please contact:
Ocean Decade Communications Team (oceandecade.comms@unesco.org)
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About the Ocean Decade:
Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.
About the UNESCO-IOC:
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts and marine resources. The IOC enables its 150 Member States to work together by coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean observations and services, ocean science and tsunami warning. The work of the IOC contributes to the mission of UNESCO to promote the advancement of science and its applications to develop knowledge and capacity, key to economic and social progress, the basis of peace and sustainable development.
