EU pledges over €300 million in ocean conservation efforts at Our Ocean Conference in Busan

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, at Our Ocean Conference in Busan, in the Republic of Korea, the European Union announced €301,485,000 in EU funding to support actions in the fields of the sustainable blue economy, marine pollution, marine protected areas, digital oceans, sustainable fisheries, and ocean and climate change.

This year’s conference, celebrating its 10th anniversary, will showcase the accomplishments, and best practices stemming from the voluntary commitments made by the global ocean community over the past decade. Under the umbrella of ‘Digital Oceans’, the conference will convene to explore the intersection of technology and ocean conservation, with a focus on the above six critical areas.

EU commitments for a safe, secure, clean, healthy and sustainably managed ocean

The European Union is committed to the following actions:

Sustainable blue economy:

• €120 million to help African and Pacific countries strengthen ocean governance and develop their blue economy in a sustainable manner. This corresponds to €58 million for the Western Indian Ocean and €42 million for Central Africa, and €20 million for the Pacific.

Marine pollution:

• €65.5 million to fight marine pollution-pending Commission decision. This funding will be distributed as follows: €18 million to develop a comprehensive European strategy for assessing and monitoring aquatic litter, €43.5 million to support authorities eliminating pollution and transitioning to a more climate-neutral and circular blue economy, and €4 millions of technical assistance to support up to 50 targeted communities in preparing transition agendas, driving local change and promoting sustainable practices.

Marine protected areas:

• €40 million to support partner countries in their efforts to preserve and sustainably manage  marine biodiversity areas and swiftly ratify the Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement.

Digital ocean:

• Through the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters, €30 million are committed to the Digital Twin Ocean.

Sustainable fisheries:                                                               

• €2.5 million to support the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to effectively fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Ocean and climate change:

• €985.000 to strengthen the ‘International Platform for Ocean Sustainability’ (IPOS), to enhance the exchange of scientific knowledge and policy expertise, driving informed decision-making for ocean conservation.

Background

The Our Ocean Conference is an international event, launched in 2014 and hosted by a different country each year, aiming to foster global ocean governance and action to support marine conservation and sustainable development. 

The ocean and seas cover 71% of the Earth’s surface. The ocean is under pressure: it suffers from global warming, unsustainable practices, illegal fishing, pollution and the loss of marine habitats.

The EU has taken many actions to protect the ocean at EU and international level. The ocean continues to be considered a key priority under the European Commission’s current mandate. The Commission will soon adopt the European Ocean Pact. It will create a unified framework for ocean policies, aiming to preserve ocean health and boost the EU blue economy.

Our Ocean Conference aims to strengthen the collective efforts to address these issues. It brings together countries across the world, civil society, and industry to inspire joint solutions and present ambitious commitments to protect the ocean. Originally launched in 2014, the Our Ocean Conference has since mobilised more than 2,618 commitments worth approximately €140,256 billion.

The EU has developed a commitment tracking tool available on the Our Ocean website. This allows citizens to follow the progress of the implementation of all the commitments made at all Our Ocean Conferences.