1. Challenges to achieve UN Ocean Decade goals
By November 2026, we will be a little over the halfway point of the UN Ocean Decade. An excellent time to take stock of accomplishments, as well as identifying and tackling the challenges that remain to achieve the UN Ocean Decade goals by 2030.
1.1 Marine Life 2030: Advancing UN Ocean Decade Challenge 2 Protect and Restore Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Convenors:
Frank Muller-Karger (IMaRS, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida)
Audrey Darnaude (CNRS (MARBEC))
Summary:
Marine Life 2030 is a UN Ocean Decade-endorsed program seeking to establish a globally coordinated system to deliver actionable, transdisciplinary knowledge of ocean life for the benefit of all people. Marine Life 2030 aims to unite existing and emerging technologies and various partners into a global, interoperable network and community of practice. This program will advance data collection, monitoring, data flows, and modelling of marine life within this decade.
Marine Life 2030, the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), and other initiatives and programs focus on Challenge 2, “Protect and Restore Ecosystems and Biodiversity”, of the Ocean Decade. The strategic vision outlined in the Vision 2030 white paper about Challenge 2 is “to enable ecosystem-based management approaches using timely and accurate information to promote sustainable development. This includes, but is not limited to, the effective conservation and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.”
A significant step up of efforts in the collection, analysis, and delivery of biodiversity observations is needed to advance the world towards the conservation of marine life and the sustainable use of its resources. Various regional and local projects plan to contribute to these aims and are ready to ensure quality data flow and promote capacity building and citizen engagement. In this session, we will bring together the Marine Life 2030-affiliated projects and the communities contributing to marine biodiversity observation and forecasting to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas and best practices, build capacity and promote synergies supporting common solutions for collective impact on reaching the UN Ocean Decade Challenge 2 goals.
1.2 Leveraging public-private-partnerships and innovative technology in marine ecosystem restoration
Convenors:
Deniz Tekerek (Archireef)
Flo Janin (Archireef)
Summary:
Archireef’s Ocean Decade initiative, Restoring Marine Ecosystems with Nature-based Solutions, aims at restoring 125 hectares of degraded marine ecosystems, from coral reefs to shorelines around the world by 2030. By utilizing our innovative nature-based solutions, we accelerate the recovery of these vital marine ecosystems.
Born out of the University of Hong Kong with its own eco-engineering facility in the UAE, Archireef is a culturally diverse nature tech company that seeks to foster biodiversity, enhance coastal resilience, and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change. We are committed to advancing ocean literacy by incorporating educational initiatives that raise awareness about the importance of marine ecosystems, the challenges they face, and the solutions available to restore them. Our ultimate goal is to establish a global network of restored marine habitats that serve as vital hubs of biodiversity and ocean health, ensuring a thriving ocean for future generations.
To achieve these goals, Archireef partners with a wide range of stakeholders, including public regulators, private corporates, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and local communities. Through these public-private-partnerships, we deploy nature-based solutions to restore coastal and marine ecosystems across Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have achieved a 95% coral survivorship after 3 years and 40% biodiversity uplift within 6 months of restoration.
In this panel, Archireef’s partners from the public, private, and academic sectors will come together to share the successes, challenges, and best practices learnt from our projects. Steps to scale up existing efforts to meet the UN Ocean Decade goals, the critical role of technology and innovation, engaging local communities and other aspects associated with people and nature conscious actions will also be discussed. The audience will be invited to ask questions to encourage knowledge exchange.
1.3 Enhancing Marine Biodiversity Through Mapping and Restoration Initiatives in Africa
Convenors:
Ruby Hansom (University of Education, Winneba - Ghana)
Peter Busumprah (Ghana Ocean Climate Innovations Hub)
Summary:
This session will delve into successful projects focused on biodiversity mapping and restoration within Africa's rich marine ecosystems, aligning with the UN Ocean Decade Challenge 2 which focuses on protecting and restoring ocean biodiversity. As the world faces unprecedented threats from climate change, pollution, and overfishing, there is a critical need for comprehensive strategies that safeguard marine life and habitats.
We will highlight case studies from various African coastal nations, showcasing innovative techniques in biodiversity mapping that utilize advanced technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. These tools have enabled local communities and researchers to identify critical habitats, track species distributions, and assess ecosystem health effectively. Emphasis will be placed on participatory mapping approaches that engage local populations, ensuring that indigenous knowledge contributes to biodiversity conservation efforts.
One notable success story comes from Ghana and Nigeria, where community-led initiatives have led to the restoration of mangrove forests vital for coastal resilience and biodiversity. By leveraging mapping data, local stakeholders successfully advocated for the protection of existing mangrove areas while implementing replanting projects, resulting in improved fish stocks and enhanced carbon sequestration.
Another case study from Tunisia and Sudan highlights the restoration of seagrass beds, which play a crucial role in providing habitat for marine life and improving water quality. Through collaborative efforts among governmental agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions, the project has demonstrated the efficacy of habitat restoration as a means to enhance biodiversity while promoting sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities.
This session aims to inspire participants by sharing practical insights and successful methodologies that can be replicated across various contexts, driving collective action toward safeguarding Africa’s vital marine biodiversity as part of the broader UN Ocean Decade objectives.
1.4 Minimizing the impact of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity: the way forward
Convenors:
Sanja Grđan (University of Dubrovnik)
Natalija Suhareva (University of Copenhagen)
Summary:
Every day, the ocean absorbs a quarter of human-caused CO2 emissions, leading to a series of changes in seawater chemistry in a process known as ocean acidification. Along with ocean warming and oxygen loss, these changes create complex challenges for marine organisms and ecosystems. Global concern about ocean acidification is reflected in its inclusion in international policies. For example, ocean acidification is the focus of UN Sustainable Development Goal Target(SDG) 14.3.
While there is increasing evidence that ocean acidification negatively impacts marine organisms, its effect on biodiversity is still poorly understood due to the complexity of studying ecosystemlevel effects. Addressing and minimizing these impacts will require both mitigation of oceanacidification (reducing CO2 emissions) and actions to maintain and build back biodiversity to promote increased ecosystem resilience.
A recent publication by the Economist calls for research assessing biodiversity loss due to ocean acidification, and the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity includes a Target on minimizing the impacts of climate change and OA (Target 8). This will require the development of a strategy on how to evaluate the impact of OA and other stressors on marine biodiversity.
This session will bring together scientists from the ocean acidification community with experts on the assessment of marine biodiversity using traditional and emerging technologies. We will welcome presentations on ongoing research using a wide range of approaches (laboratory, fields, natural analogues, monitoring, modelization), conceptual and technical approaches, as well as traditional ecological knowledge.
The main goal of the session is to connect different actors working on ocean acidification and marine biodiversity to evaluate the state of the art in the different disciplines and develop the needed strategy to minimize and address the impact of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity.
1.5 Enhancing ocean data sharing: Addressing data gaps in marine biodiversity through the Ocean Decade
Convenors:
Adam Leadbetter (Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing)
Ward Appeltans (IODE - OBIS)
Summary:
The UN Ocean Decade aims to promote ocean science and knowledge creation to improve ocean health, and create new opportunities for sustainable ocean use, in order to achieve SDG14 and the 2030 Agenda. The Decade’s Implementation Plan points out that implementing a ‘digital ocean ecosystem’ of data to support the Ocean Decade will be a dynamic and continuous process, incorporating established approaches and technologies. To support this task, effective data management, standardisation, and sharing are essential to maximise its impact and support policy, decision-making, and scientific research. However, ocean stakeholders still face significant challenges in finding, accessing, and using ocean data.
The Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing (DCO-ODS) and Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) will lead a session to explore the critical challenges and opportunities in advancing data accessibility, interoperability, and usability to support the Ocean Decade. Dr. Adam Leadbetter, DCO's lead manager, will open the session by discussing the current state of the digital ecosystem, including existing gaps and barriers to collaboration. Ward Appeltans will then give a talk on the data sharing scene from a biodiversity perspective. This will be followed by an interactive discussion with a panel of experts who work with ocean biodiversity data.
Discussion will be around some topics such as:
Challenges and perspectives on sharing and integrating ocean biodiversity data
Unlocking private data (Corporate Data Group)
Recommended practices for data sharing
The goal of the session is to identify strategies to bridge biodiversity data gaps and enhance global collaboration. By addressing the challenges, we can strengthen the digital ocean ecosystem and data foundations necessary for achieving the UN Ocean Decade’s vision of a healthy, resilient, and sustainably managed ocean.
1.6 From Local to Global: Scaling National Marine Biodiversity Best Practices
Convenors:
Ann-Katrien Lescrauwaet (Flanders Marine Institute)
Matt Frost (Plymouth Marine Laboratory; World Association of Marine Stations)
Summary:
As we reach the halfway point of the UN Ocean Decade, it is critical to assess the progress made and identify scalable solutions to enhance marine biodiversity conservation, which is relevant to several Ocean Decade Challenges, specifically Challenge 2. Many of the 40 National Decade Committees spread across the globe and regional and national institutions have implemented successful programs addressing marine biodiversity challenges, but how can these national successes be expanded and adapted to different regional and global contexts?
This session will showcase best practices from different countries, focusing on innovative policies, community-led initiatives, and science-based approaches that have successfully contributed to marine biodiversity conservation. It will explore how these efforts can be replicated, adapted, and scaled up internationally, ensuring that knowledge, resources, and strategies are effectively shared across borders.
By bringing together experts, policymakers, and practitioners, this session aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange, identifying pathways for international cooperation in marine biodiversity conservation under the UN Ocean Decade framework.
