As 2025 comes to a close, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’) reflects on the success and achievements that have turned this year into a transformative milestone for the global ocean community. Steadfast in its mission, the Ocean Decade has coordinated, supported, and amplified the work of partners in co-designing science-based solutions for ocean sustainability.
Over the past year, the Ocean Decade continues to grow global momentum, elevating ocean issues on political and social agendas and mobilizing thousands of partners to deliver action on the ground. Across 78 countries, more than 700 endorsed Decade Actions are addressing critical gaps in ocean science. Together, these Actions have produced more than 10,000 knowledge products and have supported ocean policy, including the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. More than 24% of all Actions are being carried out in Africa and over 17% in Small Island Developing States, demonstrating progress toward a more balanced global presence of the Decade. This year, the Ocean Decade also expanded its audience, with social media reach doubling to 11 million and website views surpassing 2 million.
“These achievements show what’s possible when diverse voices unite around a shared vision for a sustainable ocean future. Our heartfelt thanks go to our partners, collaborators, and the entire Ocean Decade community, whose dedication and collective energy continue to drive the world’s biggest coordinated ocean science movement forward,” said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. “As we look ahead, we remain committed to building on this year’s momentum by supporting critical ocean research, investments, and initiatives on the road to 2030.”
Explore the timeline below to look back at what the Ocean Decade achieved in 2025:
FEBRUARY 2025
GenOcean, the Ocean Decade’s flagship public engagement campaign, highlights Decade Actions, collaborating organizations, and ocean leaders that focus on youth and citizen science opportunities to help anyone, anywhere be the change the ocean needs.
The ‘Ocean Science in Action’ series highlights achievements and success from the Ocean Decade’s network of endorsed Decade Actions. Forty Actions featured across 13 stories illustrate how the Ocean Decade is pioneering innovative solutions, from building sustainable coastal cities and advancing ocean planning to exploring the deep sea, empowering women, and tackling plastic pollution.
Issued at the First Ocean Decade International Coastal Cities Conference, the Qingdao Declaration calls on coastal cities worldwide to harness science and knowledge and strengthen collaboration to advance a sustainable ocean economy.
MAY 2025
Ocean Decade Alliance members have committed to accelerating efforts to map the seabed. This Call to Action urges governments, the private sector, philanthropies, NGOs, and academia to join the Alliance with new initiatives to speed up ocean mapping and ensure open access to ocean data.
JUNE 2025
Co-organized by the IOC, Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the City of Rio de Janeiro, this flagship Decade event will be held on 7-9 April 2027 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Conference will showcase progress toward the Barcelona Statement, refine priorities for the remainder of the Decade, foster partnerships, and shape the post-2030 ocean agenda.
On 9-13 June, more than 15,000 participants, including 2,000 scientists and over 60 world leaders, gathered at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference to advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 on ‘Life Below Water’. As the coordinating agency of the Ocean Decade, the IOC led a series of events placing ocean science at the heart of global action. The flagship Ocean Decade Forum on 11 June presented the impact of endorsed Decade Actions and marked the launch of new calls for proposals, tools, and initiatives to advance ocean science solutions.
Led by the IOC and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in the framework of the Ocean Decade, this position paper calls for a common framework to measure returns on ocean science investments, helping track progress and identify gaps, particularly in Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.
AUGUST 2025
Differing national approaches to sharing private-sector ocean data remain a key challenge. To address this, the Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group developed a policy recommendation calling on IOC Member States to support the sharing of all ocean-related data collected in waters under national jurisdiction.
OCTOBER 2025
The 2025 Tokyo Statement is the key outcome of the Fifth Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue Meeting, held from 3 to 5 September 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. It is a strong call from global philanthropy to drive change in the scale and type of resources invested in ocean science under the Decade.
Prepared by the Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group, this data-sharing guideline encourages companies and subcontractors to make legacy and future marine megafauna data available. It provides practical guidance on what kind of data to share, where to do it, and key considerations related to data quality and ownership.
NOVEMBER 2025
Part of the Ocean Decade Capacity Development Facility, Ocean Connector is a new platform that connects those who need capacity development support in ocean science with those who can provide it. Open to a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, researchers, NGOs, community groups, and private sector entities, Ocean Connector functions as a regulated marketplace, where Users seek capacity development support and Partners offer relevant services and opportunities.
In the framework of the Ocean Decade, Heads of State and high-level representatives of Island States will gather with technical and financial partners in Tokyo, Japan, from 3 to 4 June 2026 for the Island States Ocean Summit. Hosted by The Nippon Foundation and co-organized with the IOC, the Summit marks a key step toward climate-resilient ocean planning and will conclude with an Action Statement outlining concrete commitments and next steps for joint initiatives for and in Island nations and territories.
DECEMBER 2025
The newly released Ocean Decade Progress Report tells the story of a global movement transforming ocean science and knowledge into real-world impact. This third annual stocktaking provides an overview of key Decade initiatives, achievements, remaining gaps, and next steps, guided by the Barcelona Statement and the recommendations of an independent Mid-Term Evaluation.
From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, the new Decade Advisory Board, comprising 15 expert members from over a dozen countries, will define the Ocean Decade’s strategic orientation through its second half. The new members will provide advice on strengthening the Decade’s overall impact, refining governance models and approaches to resource mobilization, and reinforcing collaboration across the UN system. The group will also support the endorsement of Decade Actions, further embed the Decade in science-policy dialogue, and increase the engagement of underrepresented groups and regions.
Building on these achievements, the Ocean Decade now looks ahead to its next milestones: an inclusive preparatory process in 2026 leading to the 2027 Ocean Decade Conference kicking off at the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting, the Conferences of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP31), the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), and the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement.
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 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 the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.
About the IOC:
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts and marine resources. The IOC enables its 152 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.