‘We are the ocean’
In the run-up to the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in Nice, the French ambassador to Singapore highlights the critical need for high seas governance, financing a sustainable blue economy, and science and ocean literacy
FROM Jun 9 to 13, 2025, France will be hosting the third United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (UNOC, or United Nations Ocean Conference). For this crucial event, some 100 heads of state and government will converge, as well as tens of thousands of researchers, scientists, economic actors, activists and citizens from around the world. On this occasion, France’s aim will be clear: Protecting the oceans through tangible actions.
The oceans belong to all of us. They feed and protect our peoples. They inspire dreams and enable travel. They offer sustainable energy, means to trade, resources and infinite scientific knowledge.
One in three people relies on the oceans for their livelihood, yet the oceans are in danger. They remain little-known, with neither global governance nor the financing needed for their preservation. The numbers are worrying: more than eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year, according to a study in Science. Moreover, more than a third of fish stocks suffer from overfishing, while ocean acidification, rising sea levels and the destruction of marine ecosystems gain pace, as direct consequences of climate change.
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