The UN Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Conference was held from April 10th to 12th, 2024, hosted by the government of Spain in Barcelona. This event marked an important milestone on the path to 2030. It covered the full range of Ocean Decade Challenges, including critical issues such as climate change, food security, sustainable management of biodiversity, the sustainable ocean economy, pollution, and natural hazards.

The 2024 Ocean Decade Conference established a new foundation to enhance the sustainable management of the ocean and promote science-based innovation at both global and local levels, ensuring that no one is left behind. Key questions were addressed: What have been the main achievements since the launch of the Ocean Decade? What should be the key areas for action over the next three to five years? This conference brought together the global Ocean Decade community and its partners to celebrate progress, take stock of achievements, and set joint priorities for the future. To learn more about the event and its program, visit the official event website here.

(Image by: IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder)

The MPA Forum satellite event took place on May 8th and 9th, 2024. S.Pro, a founding and managing partner of the SUBMARINER Network and a partner in the Win Big project, participated in the event. They have compiled a document highlighting the key takeaways from both the satellite event and the main conference. You can access the document here.

These are part of the Key messages of the event (SUBMARINER Network event summary)

Sustainable Ocean Planning has been recognized by the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy as a comprehensive framework for marine policies. Amidst a growing array of international, regional, and national commitments and initiatives focusing on sustainable ocean planning, marine/maritime spatial planning, and other ecosystem-based approaches, there is a significant opportunity to accelerate these efforts during the Ocean Decade.

Additionally, discussions were held on various marine conservation and citizen engagement initiatives in Latin America, including the Northeast of the Galápagos archipelago, as well as in countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. In Mediterranean countries, a conservation trust fund based in Monaco has been established and is managed by a multi-actor board of directors.

Experts from six EU projects (SP-OR, REGINA-MSP, MSP-GREEN, ReMAP, eMSP-NBSR, and MSP4BIO) came together to discuss knowledge-based, climate-smart maritime spatial planning (MSP). Their collaboration aims to explore, understand, and advance climate-smart MSP to provide actionable knowledge.