France Rallies World Leaders to Seal Ocean Protection Deal at UN Conference in Nice

With the future of the world’s oceans hanging in the balance, global leaders, scientists, and activists gathered in the French Riviera city of Nice this week for the historic UN Ocean Conference, where France declared a new era of high seas governance and marine protection.

UN Ocean Conference Closes with Historic Commitments, But Activists Demand Action Beyond Words

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded today in Nice with an urgent call for governments to translate bold words into concrete action to protect the world’s oceans. Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit brought together more than 15,000 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, civil society leaders, scientists, youth, and Indigenous communities in an 11-day event hailed as both a milestone for ocean diplomacy and a test of global resolve.

Reviving Mangroves at the Edge of Mozambique Channel

Just before dawn, a flotilla of wooden canoes drifts silently  through mangrove-tangled channels where roots sprout from the black mud of the lagoon. Here, at the edge between sea and forest, lies a story of restoration.

Mexico, Spain, East Africa, Awarded For their Ecosystem Restoration Programs

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized three countries and regions for their large-scale programs to restore their native ecosystems.

Ocean Action Boosted in Africa as Biodiversity Leaders Call for Urgent Synergy, Funding Reform

As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum—and funding—to deliver on long-standing promises.

Nia Tero: Indigenous Guardianship the ‘Only Time-Tested Approach’ To Healthy Ocean Ecosystems

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) has seen a significant presence from Indigenous peoples, who insist that their perspective and guidance be taken into account in the global efforts for sustainable ocean use and conservation. The sense of responsibility to the ocean and recognition of its history is an example that the international community can learn from.

From Villain to Vanguard: How the Shipping Industry Could Help Save Our Seas

Once cast as a culprit of ocean degradation, the global shipping industry is quietly reshaping its image—with experts now betting on it as a key ally in saving our seas.

Atoll Nation of Tuvalu Faces Climate Existential Crisis, Frustration With Slow Funding

Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Feleti Teo, describes himself as an optimist—despite the existential crisis his atoll nation faces with climate change-induced sea level rise and frustration with existing international financial mechanisms to fund adaptation and mitigation.

UNOC3: A Cry for Global Action to Save Small-Scale Fisheries

Just before dawn, the worn wooden dhows begin gliding toward the shore at Magogoni fish market in Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam. Their tattered sails flutter against the orange sky. Exhausted fishers step out onto the muddy sand, hauling frayed nets and plastic crates, their sun-creased faces tight with fatigue.

‘A Wake-Up Call from the Womb’—Indigenous People Rally for a Binding Plastics Treaty

As the sun peeked through the French Riviera clouds and a dozen reporters sipped orange juice aboard the WWF Panda Boat docked at Port Lympia, Frankie Orona, a Native American rights advocate from the Society of Native Nations in San Antonio, Texas, stunned the room into a moment of absolute stillness.

Vanuatu Anticipates New Era With Climate Change Reparations

To the outside world, a sea level rise of 34 cm (or slightly longer than a child’s ruler) may not seem dramatic, but it’s an existential threat to the Pacific island state of Vanuatu.

Chumbe Island: How Tanzania is Leading the Charge to Save Our Oceans

Under the surface of Tanzania’s turquoise waters, a miracle unfolds quietly every day.

Pacific Leaders Call for Bold Climate Action in Ocean Conference

“There is no climate action without ocean action,” President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands told reporters, as she and other representatives of Pacific island states reiterated that countries must honor their climate action agreements.

Pacific States, Territories Gift the World its ‘Largest Conservation Project’

While the island states in the Pacific may be modest, the ocean that surrounds them represents a huge oceanic state—an area equivalent to the entire European Continent.

UN Pushes for 10,000 Ships To Track Ocean Changes

A groundbreaking initiative to revolutionize global ocean observation is being launched this week at the UN Ocean Conference side event, aiming to enlist 10,000 commercial ships to collect and transmit vital ocean and weather data by 2035.

Waves of Change: From the Glittering Shores of Nice to Struggling Seaweed Farmers in Zanzibar

The late afternoon sun sparkles on the waters of the French Riviera as yachts dock at the Port of Nice with mechanical grace. A tram glides past palm-lined boulevards, where joggers, drenched in sweat, huff past leisurely strollers and sunbathers. Just beside the promenade, a crowd gathers around a young girl. With braided hair bouncing in rhythm, she belts out Beyoncé’s Halo with stunning precision. Her bare feet dance on the cobblestones, her voice echoing against the pastel façades.

‘Ocean Health Is Inseparable From Human Health, Climate Stability’—UN Chief Urges Swift Action, Partnership for Ocean Conference

“When we poison the ocean, we poison ourselves,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters on the second day of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3).

UNOC3: World Leaders Recognize Urgent Need for Ocean Action

The world has converged along the Mediterranean Sea to affirm their commitments to the sustainable use and protection of the ocean.

Oceans at Risk: Report Warns Global Fossil Fuel Expansion Threatens Marine Biodiversity

A newly released report by Earth Insight in collaboration with 16 environmental organizations has sounded a global alarm on the unchecked expansion of offshore oil and gas projects into some of the most biologically rich and ecologically sensitive marine environments on the planet.

South-West Pacific Communities Threatened by Ocean Heat, Sea-Level Rise

The South-West Pacific experienced unprecedented warming in 2024, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report released today (June 5)—threatening islands in a region where half the population lives close to the coast.