A thriving ocean is fundamental to the stability of the planet and our future. It’s as existential as that. Yet, we continue to destroy marine life and the ecosystems that support it through pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and two climate-related factors: ocean acidification and global warming.
Another world is possible — one where we not only stop this trend but reverse it and invest in regeneration, sustainable use, and protection of the oceans. A nature-positive world. This requires a profound transformation in how we view and value the ocean, as well as how we live our lives and manage our economy.
We know what must be done: protect more, restore as much as possible, and shift from ocean-negative practices to ocean-positive ones. Momentum is building, but a critical question remains unanswered, undermining progress: how do we measure if marine life is truly recovering? How do we assess whether we are advancing ocean health? There are many ways to measure this, but so far, no universal approach has been agreed upon to measure ocean regeneration that can drive large-scale action and increase accountability among governments, society, and businesses.
Recognizing this critical gap, the Nature Positive Initiative, the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), and the World Economic Forum have joined forces to reach consensus on a globally aligned measurement framework that can guide ocean actors — including policymakers, businesses, financial institutions, and communities — toward credible, science-based, and measurable progress.
Over the coming year, the partnership will work on developing a collaborative roadmap to establish consensus on measuring the state of marine nature.
Building Aligned Indicators from the Ground Up
An inclusive process is essential for the success of this consensus-building effort. In June 2025, the partners launched the project on the sidelines of the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France. A public session and expert roundtable brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to explore the ocean measurement landscape and refine the project’s scope. A landscape assessment was then conducted to better understand existing parameters and frameworks, identify gaps, and highlight areas needing better harmonization.
The landscape assessment and early stakeholder engagements confirmed the primary gap: establishing consensus on measures of marine nature’s condition.
In addition to the landscape assessment, the project benefits from lessons learned aligning around a set of terrestrial nature state measures currently in pilot phase. The goal is to balance scientific rigor with real-world applicability across sectors, which will also inform the development of ocean measures.
Co-creating Measures that Deliver Positive Ocean Outcomes
A dedicated technical working group will collaborate with experts from academia, business, finance, conservation, standards bodies, and Indigenous knowledge holders through webinars, workshops, and written contributions to produce a draft marine measurement framework by November 2025.
The draft marine measurement framework will undergo a broader public consultation phase to encourage wide input and provide global stakeholders with a vital opportunity to help shape a practical and credible tool for positive nature-based ocean action. Feedback from this consultation will be reviewed and integrated into an improved version of the framework in early 2026. As with terrestrial measures, this phase is crucial to securing buy-in from the wider ocean community.
Thereafter, the measures will be available for testing. The group will design a pilot testing phase with partners and companies to integrate and adapt the framework to real-world scenarios, ensuring the measures meet their objectives. This will include developing and testing technical guidance, as well as trialing and refining the measures as needed.
In due course, marine nature state measures will be ready to be incorporated into various standards, frameworks, and guidance documents — such as disclosure and target-setting frameworks.
The ambition is for this framework to become a globally recognized tool that informs policy, investment, conservation, and corporate action toward a healthier ocean. Measuring ocean health with a harmonized framework will improve understanding of our impact on ocean biodiversity. It will help everyone work together, across sectors and regions, to protect the ocean and restore its resilience — the vital lifeline for the survival and prosperity of today’s populations and future generations.
