France will host the first major event on ocean protection in June, organized under the UN’s auspices. The Tara Ocean Foundation intends to seize this opportunity to unite more states against plastic proliferation and deep-sea mining.
« We’ll only have one chance in our lifetime to host an ocean conference in France, » enthusiastically declares Romain Troublé, the Director-General of Tara Ocean. Despite rising water temperatures, coastline retreat, ocean acidification, and the slowdown of deep currents, the tone of this foundation, dedicated to marine spaces, is resolutely optimistic as the third United Nations Ocean Conference approaches, known as UNOC 3.
After two earlier conferences with limited impact, one in New York in 2017 and another in Lisbon in 2022, the UN is finally holding its first high-level event on the subject this June in Nice, co-organized by France and Costa Rica.
Five Days of Negotiations Between States
Of course, the highlight will be the five days of negotiations between states from June 9 to 13. Tara Ocean will closely follow these discussions to influence the content of the final political declaration, much like at a COP conference. « Until now, there hasn’t been a systemic and holistic view of the ocean. We must remember that its governance is highly fragmented, split between climate and biodiversity, with 18 UN agencies involved, » emphasizes Romain Troublé.
This moment will be historic, but not revolutionary. The content of the final declaration, non-binding for the states, is already known. The key will be to adjust it to the greatest extent possible. The most important thing will be to fully support goal 14, which states that we must « conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. »
Ocean Protection Should Become the Norm
But perhaps what happens outside the conference will matter most. Tara Ocean is particularly hopeful about the coalitions of countries that may emerge to support concrete actions. The foundation has plenty of ideas to offer. One key initiative is Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean, launched with the Varda Group, aiming to make the principle of ocean protection the norm, at least concerning international waters, the deep sea, and the Southern Ocean (Antarctica). « It’s up to those who want to exploit its resources to prove the safety of their actions on ecosystems, not to the NGOs defending them. The burden of proof must be reversed! » explains André Abreu, International Policy Director of the foundation.
Additionally, an international task force of legal experts will be launched on June 9 at the Villa Arson. Its mission? To develop a proposed text that could be validated at the next UN Ocean Conference in 2028. This will also serve as a way to occupy the media space and rally forces to support the moratorium on deep-sea mining, which might be challenged by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) next summer in Jamaica.
Ocean Surveillance and « Marine Protected Areas »
The foundation is also pushing for the establishment of a technical ocean surveillance system so that no ship goes off the radar. Some ships disable their AIS (Automatic Identification System) during illegal fishing. Tara Ocean also supports the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS), which aims to gather a coalition of ocean experts. Furthermore, the foundation continues to advocate for the goal of establishing 30% Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030, as well as the ratification of the International Treaty for the Protection of Biodiversity in the High Seas (BBNJ).
And why not successfully unite countries around the goal of reducing global plastic production by at least 50% as part of the ongoing negotiations on the International Treaty on Plastic Pollution? « This figure may seem huge, but it’s not so crazy after all, and it wouldn’t hurt our economy. It matches our plastic production level in 2017, just eight years ago, » recalls Henri Bourgeois-Costa.
Source: capital
