The 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNCO3) was held in Nice, France from June 09 to June 13, 2025. The 5-day conference was hosted jointly by the Governments of France and Costa Rica.
- Theme of UNCO3: ‘Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean’.
- UNCO3 aims to bring together all member states of the UN, specialized agencies, civil society, the private sector and global donors.
About UNCO3:
i.The 3rd Ocean Conference aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14): conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
ii.UNCO3 witnessed participation from 175 UN member states; heads of state from 64 countries, 28 heads of UN, intergovernmental and international organisations; 115 ministers and 12,000 delegates.
iii.The conference has outlined 3 key priorities, in order to produce an ambitious ‘Nice Ocean Action Plan’:
- Priority 1: Work towards the successful completion of ocean-related multilateral processes to raise the level of ambition for ocean protection.
- Priority 2: Raising funds for SDG 14 and supporting the development of a sustainable blue economy.
- Priority 3: Strengthen and better disseminate marine science knowledge for better policy-making.
iv.Li Junha (China), Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, was appointed as the Secretary General of UNCO3 by the UN Secretary-General, to overall monitor its preparations.
- Also, Miguel de Serpa Soares (Portugal), Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, was appointed as Special Adviser to the Presidents of the conference on ocean and legal matters.
Key Highlights of UNCO3:
FAO Report: Deep-Sea Species Highly Vulnerable, with only 29% of their stocks being fished in a sustainable manner
In June 2025, Rome (Italy) based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released its latest report titled ‘Review of the State of World Marine Fisheries Resources-2025’ during the UNCO3.
- The report highlighted that deep-sea species are highly vulnerable and under significant pressure, with only 29% of their stocks being fished in a sustainable manner.
- The report has examined 2,570 stocks globally, with more than 600 experts from over 200 institutions and 90 countries participating in the analysis.
Key Findings:
i.The report showed that 43.5% of the 23 shark stocks (covering 7 species) examined, were unsustainably fished.
ii.The report further revealed that globally, 64.5% of all fishery stocks are exploited within biologically sustainable levels, while 35.5% are overfished.
iii.As per the report, 87% of assessed stocks of tuna and tuna-like species are sustainable, and 99% of landings coming from sustainable resources.
iv.The report noted that regions with strong management systems such as: the northeast Pacific and southwest Pacific, show higher sustainability rates.
- In contrast to it, regions like: the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and the southern Pacific, only 35.1% and 46.4% of fish stocks, respectively, are sustainably exploited.
Brazil and France Launched New Initiative ‘Blue NDC Challenge’ to Scale-Up Ocean-focused Climate Action
During the inaugural day of UNCO3, Brazil and France launched a historic global initiative “Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge” aimed to significantly scale-up ocean-focused climate action.
- The new initiative urges all countries to place the oceans at the heart of climate action ahead of t COP30 to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is scheduled to be held in Belem, Brazil in November 2024.
About NDCs:
i.NDCs are national climate action plans that outline a country’s efforts to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate change under the Paris Agreement adopted by 195 countries at UNFCCC COP21 in Paris, France in December 2015.
ii.Paris Agreement aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial-levels and also to limit the surface temperature increase to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
About Blue NDC Challenge:
i.Apart from Brazil and France, 6 other countries: Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico, Palau, and the Republic of Seychelles, have joined the initiative, committing to include ocean-focused climate action in their updated NDCs under the Paris Agreement.
ii.The newly launched initiative is supported by Washington DC (the United States of America, USA) based Ocean Conservancy, the Ocean and Climate Platform and Washington DC (the USA) based World Resources Institute (WRI) through the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) and has been endorsed by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Brazil.
UNCO3: 49 States, EU Ratified High Seas Treaty but Still Short of 60 Mark
18 countries including Guinea-Bissau, Belgium, Liberia, the Solomon Islands, Malta, Belgium and Greece, have ratified the High Seas Treaty during a special High Seas Treaty event held on the sidelines of UNCO3.
- With this, the total number of ratifications to the treaty reaches to 49 which are still short of the 60 ratifications required for the ocean agreement to come into force.
- Additionally, 17 countries signed the treaty, marking their intention to ratify it in the future, thus bringing the total number of signatories to 134.
- Prior to this conference, 31 countries including the European Union (EU) had deposited their ratifications to the treaty.
About High Seas Treaty:
i.High Seas Treaty, formally known as the Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, was officially adopted on June 19, 2023.
- It is the 3rd implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
ii.The treaty is crucial to achieving the global ‘30×30’ target of protecting 30% of Earth’s land and sea by 2030.
- It is one of 23 goals outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by 196 nations in 2022, to stop and reverse natural biodiversity loss.
India’s Position Related to High Seas Treaty:
India has not ratified the High Seas Treaty or BBNJ at UNCO3, despite it signing the agreement in September 2024. Before proceeding, the Government of India (GoI) is required to amend certain legislations like: Biodiversity Act.
- During the UNCO3, Union Minister of State (MoS)(Independent Charge, IC) Dr. Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) suggested 10-point roadmap for High Seas Treaty includes the expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); scaling up the blue economy through sustainable fisheries and maritime trade; among others.
Point to Note:
As per the latest update from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), only 8.6% of the ocean is reported as protected (as of June 02, 2025), of this figure, only 2.7% has been found to be effectively protected.
Nearly 100 Countries Signed ‘Nice Wake-up Call’ for Ambitious Plastics Treaty
On the sidelines of UNCO3, 96 countries have signed the ‘Nice Wake-up Call and for ambitious Plastics Treaty’. Also, India is not among the signatories of the treaty.
- The initiative was launched following the failure of countries to reach consensus on a legally binding plastics treaty in December, 2024.
5 Key Elements of Wake-Up Call:
This new ‘Wake-up Call’ initiative outlines 5 crucial elements essential for an effective Global Plastics Treaty.
i.The need for a global target to reduce primary production of plastic polymers across the world;
ii.Phasing-out the use of most problematic plastic products and chemicals of concern associated;
iii.Enhancing design of plastic products;
iv.Finance that is in alignment with the ambition and guided by the polluter pays principle;
v.An effective treaty that can evolve over time.
About France:
President- Emmanuel Macron
Capital- Paris
Currency- Euro (EUR)
