Fresh off the 2025 UN Ocean Conference and its political declaration titled “Our ocean, our future: United for urgent action”, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’) continues to demonstrate that global ambition can lead to real-world solutions with the endorsement of 43 new ocean science initiatives.
Discover the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions here.
While high-level discussions at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference on 9-13 June in Nice, France, put the ocean at the top of the global policy agenda, the Ocean Decade is making sure momentum is turned into concrete action: on coastlines, in labs, in classrooms, and across local communities. Forty-three newly endorsed Actions address a wide range of ocean issues, including ecosystem-based ocean management, seafloor mapping, mental health apps for fishers, and Arctic research.
Spanning 16 countries – from Nigeria and Indonesia to Ireland, Colombia, and Australia – the Actions are primarily led by non-governmental and educational organizations, and the private sector.
“Behind every commitment, there must be a solution from the ground that resonates with local realities and connects with marine policy frameworks. At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, we came to showcase the impact of over 700 endorsed Actions, proving that the global ocean community is not just pledging change, but delivering it,” said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), lead agency of the Decade. “And the movement continues to grow with new Actions across key areas from sustainable ocean planning to new approaches in ocean observation and deep-sea exploration.”
Advancing marine disaster prevention, the ocean economy, and exploration of Earth’s final frontier
How do we slow glacier melting around Antarctica, reduce acidification in the Pacific, and respond to oxygen loss in the Indian Ocean? The newly endorsed Decade Programme MoNITOR, led by China’s Second Institute of Oceanography, addresses ocean-related natural hazards across major ocean basins. Functioning like a digital twin, the programme “couples” ocean physics, like temperature and currents, with its biology to improve forecasts, disaster response, and ecosystem protection.
Crushing pressure, near-freezing temperatures, and total darkness define the hadal zone – an ocean frontier 6,000 to 11,000 meters deep, named after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. It’s so deep that Mount Everest could fit inside the Mariana Trench with room to spare. The new Global Hadal Exploration Programme (GHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Science, investigates the biodiversity, ecosystems, pollution, and geological processes unique to this extreme environment. Through international collaboration, capacity building, and public outreach, the initiative aims to fill critical knowledge gaps in deep-ocean exploration.
The Decade Programme Protect Restore Ocean Capital and Blue Economies (PROCARIBE+) led by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) advances sustainable ocean economy. The initiative scales up efforts to protect and harness coastal and marine resources through ocean governance, marine spatial planning, blue carbon, and sustainable fisheries in the Wider Caribbean region.
Driving sustainable ocean planning and ocean leadership across Africa
Thirteen of the new Projects will fall under the umbrella of Ocean Decade Programmes led by UNESCO-IOC, advancing ocean planning, tsunami risk preparedness, and ocean literacy.
The Sustainable Ocean Planning Programme empowers nations with the tools and knowledge to develop user-driven, climate-smart ocean plans, grounded in both scientific and Indigenous knowledge. It now hosts six new Projects supporting the implementation of ocean accounts, inclusive marine management, and area-based conservation tools, including in conflict-affected coastal communities.
Three new Decade Projects hosted by the SEAWARD Africa Programme will create an enabling environment for the implementation of the Ocean Decade in Africa, a regional priority. They focus on restoring coastal ecosystems, understanding the West African upwelling system, and developing a Biodiversity Atlas to inform local policies.
Building knowledge and capacity for ocean literacy
Alongside the new Projects, six Decade Contributions have received official endorsement to support the implementation of the Ocean Decade. These initiatives will provide funding and in-kind support to strengthen society-ocean connections and build capacity through interactive rallies, science exhibitions, youth leadership training, and research expeditions.
The Catalan capital, Barcelona, will host the new Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre (DCC) focused on Decade Challenge 4, advancing a sustainable ocean economy. Led by the Barcelona City Council, the DCC will adopt a flexible model for ocean economy transformation and strengthen the city’s leadership in sustainable ocean development.
A new Decade Implementing Partner, the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), leads marine, freshwater, and Great Lakes education. It connects educators, scientists, and communities across 15 U.S. regions to promote ocean literacy, directly supporting Decade Challenge 10.
These new endorsements bring the total number of Ocean Decade Actions to 738, implemented on every continent and covering all ocean basins.
The current Call for Decade Actions No. 09/2025 is open until 31 August 2025, aiming to bridge regional and thematic gaps in ocean science to support informed decision-making for sustainable development.
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 151 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.
