Charting a Blue Future: What the 2025 UN Ocean Conference Means for Africa
Written By Maxine Ansah
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As the coastal city of Nice, France, plays host to the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference from 9 to 13 June, the world is gathering with a singular purpose: accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. This high-level global forum, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, is set against the backdrop of deepening environmental challenges and a narrowing window of opportunity to meet Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14): life below water.
The ocean, covering over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, plays a central role in regulating climate, sustaining biodiversity and providing food, livelihoods and transport for billions. For African countries, whose futures are intricately tied to the health of marine ecosystems, the outcomes of this conference will be crucial.
A Global Mandate with African Stakes
The conference builds on the momentum of past UN Ocean Conferences held in New York in 2017 and Lisbon in 2022, but its tone is more urgent. The political declaration of 2022 underscored the ocean’s integral role in supporting life, culture, economies and sustainable development. Yet, ocean degradation has only accelerated due to overfishing, pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change, prompting the need for transformative action now.
The African continent, home to 38 coastal and island states, is both a guardian and beneficiary of vast marine resources. From the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, Africa’s exclusive economic zones hold immense potential for blue economy growth. However, these resources are threatened by unsustainable practices, weak marine governance and insufficient financing.
As the UN Development Programme (UNDP) emphasised during the Ocean Action Panel on 10 June, “a vibrant sustainable ocean economy serving the planet and its people requires a healthy ocean.” The agency warned that business-as-usual approaches risk irreversible tipping points. For Africa, this would not only undermine climate resilience and food security but also hamper progress on poverty eradication and economic diversification.
An Unfair Share of the Burden
Africa is grappling with the consequences of ocean degradation despite contributing relatively little to its causes. Industrialised nations are largely responsible for the carbon emissions, marine litter and unsustainable extraction that drive the ocean crisis. Yet it is African coastal communities that suffer the most from rising sea levels, declining fish stocks and plastic pollution.
As Foga Agbetossou of the Strategic Alliance for Oceans (SAO) in Togo poignantly noted during discussions in the lead-up to the conference, “Microplastics don’t need a visa to reach African shores.” This metaphor speaks volumes about the transboundary nature of marine pollution and the unfair environmental burden borne by countries with limited capacity to address its impacts.
Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean, much of it from the Global North. Ocean currents transport this debris across continents, choking marine life and polluting coastlines from Dakar to Dar es Salaam. These pollutants also enter food chains, posing health risks to populations already facing economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
This injustice underscores the need for global solidarity and stronger international regulations on waste management and corporate responsibility. It also highlights the importance of ensuring that African voices are at the centre of decision-making processes, especially in the design of global mechanisms such as the new global plastics treaty currently under negotiation.
A New Model for Ocean Finance
To support sustainable solutions, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and partners are launching One Ocean Finance, a new facility designed to unlock billions in private investment for ocean-positive projects. This approach aims to shift from donor dependency to long-term financial sustainability.
For African countries, access to such finance could drive investment in marine conservation, coastal infrastructure, and sustainable fisheries. However, meaningful inclusion in designing and governing these mechanisms will be key to ensuring projects align with local and national priorities.
From Knowledge to Action
The conference is also spotlighting science and innovation through side events like the One Ocean Science Congress and Blue Economy and Finance Forum. With data gaps and limited research capacity hampering Africa’s marine governance, stronger support for ocean science and education across the continent is critical.
Engaging local communities and Indigenous knowledge systems will also be vital. Africa’s ocean future depends not only on funding and policies but also on the participation of those living closest to the sea.
The Road Ahead
The 2025 UN Ocean Conference is a turning point. Africa must seize the moment to push for equity in global ocean governance, demand accountability for transboundary pollution and secure the investments needed to build a resilient blue economy.
The slogan of the conference “Our Ocean, Our Future, Our Responsibility”, is a powerful reminder that while the ocean connects us all, some bear a heavier burden. For Africa, the future of the ocean is not just an environmental issue. It is a matter of justice.
