The tenth Our Ocean Conference brought together countries and non-state stakeholders who made 277 new commitments to sustainable ocean action, amounting to nearly USD 9.1 billion. This is additional to the USD 160 billion mobilized since the launch of the Our Ocean Conference in 2014.
Held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 28-30 April 2025, under the slogan ‘Our Ocean, Our Action,’ the Conference sought to mobilize voluntary, measurable, and impactful actions across six areas: marine protected areas (MPAs); sustainable blue economies; climate change; maritime security; sustainable fisheries; and marine pollution. The Conference host announced ‘Korea Blue Action Plan,’ comprising 76 ambitious actions for sustainable oceans.
As a tenth anniversary event, the Conference also took stock of commitments to sustainable ocean action made over the last decade and shared examples of successful implementation of such commitments.
An assessment developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) as the Our Ocean Secretariat reveals that between 2014 and 2024, the Our Ocean Conference generated 2,618 commitments to ocean action, equivalent to USD 160 billion in pledged funds. It highlights that, as of January 2025, approximately 1,130 commitments had been delivered (43%), 1,005 were in progress (38%), and 483 (18%) had not commenced.
Prominent themes and priorities that emerged during discussions include:
With the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) preparing to enter into force, the tenth Our Ocean Conference convened at a critical juncture. It built towards the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), to be hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice in June 2025. UNOC3 is expected to accelerate action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean and its resources for sustainable development to and identify further ways and means to support the implementation of SDG 14 (life below water).