ISTANBUL

As marine scientists, policymakers, and global experts gather for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, a consensus is emerging on a troubling reality: the world’s oceans are under significant threat.

Running from Monday to Friday, the event, co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, aims to ignite crucial discussions surrounding ocean protection, financing, and sustainable development.

Recently, Li Junhua, UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, warned starkly that the Earth’s oceans are “in a state of emergency,” echoing concerns increasingly voiced within the global scientific community.

Karina Barquet, a senior research fellow and team leader of the Water, Coasts and Ocean group at the Stockholm Environment Institute, reinforced this sentiment. “The emergency declaration is sadly not an exaggeration – it’s a reflection of what science and local communities have been telling us for years,” Barquet told Anadolu.

She highlighted the complexities facing ocean ecosystems, which suffer from multiple, overlapping issues: “One of the most pressing challenges is that multiple stressors, such as warming, acidification, biodiversity loss, and pollution, are no longer isolated issues. They interact and amplify each other, creating cascading risks that are difficult to manage through siloed policies.”

Climate change and ocean emergency

While plastic pollution, ecosystem loss, and overfishing are contributing significantly to ocean degradation, experts overwhelmingly identify climate change as the leading driver.

“Climate change, in particular, acts as a risk multiplier. It destabilizes ecosystems, disrupts livelihoods, and threatens infrastructure,” said Barquet.

Callum Roberts, a professor of marine conservation at the University of Exeter, underscored this point.

Historically, Roberts explained, overexploitation of marine life has significantly reduced ocean biodiversity, but climate change has now overtaken other threats in urgency.

“Climate change is only going to become a bigger threat to the ocean over time,” he said.

He emphasized how oceans have been “a friend to humanity,” absorbing over 90% of heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution, acting as a buffer against catastrophic global warming.

“We have been able to survive on a planet that is reasonably cool because the oceans trapped that heat,” said Roberts.

“If it hadn’t been for oceans taking up that heat, the temperature on land could have risen by an estimated 36°C, not the 1.5°C increase seen up to now.”

But this critical function comes at a cost, as warmer ocean waters have profoundly impacted marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs, with Roberts pointing out several incidents of mass coral death over the past 30 years.

Key discussions and the High Seas Treaty

Roberts expressed hope that the conference will catalyze significant progress towards expanded ocean protections.

With the looming 2030 deadline to protect 30% of Earth’s ocean and land areas, set by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, the marine scientist noted current progress remains sluggish.

“We need to accelerate progress in terms of both ocean and land protection, but the ocean lags behind land in terms of the amount of area that is protected,” he explained.

“There’s only about half of the area of ocean protected that there is of land.”

An essential part of the upcoming discussions will be the UN’s High Seas Treaty, designed to protect marine biodiversity in international waters. Roberts stressed that 61% of the world’s oceans lie outside national jurisdictions, under international law.

Until now, there is “no implemented framework by which we can establish protected areas in most of the high seas,” he explained.

“Without this agreement, we won’t be able to reach 30% ocean protection by 2030 under any circumstances,” Roberts emphasized.

Currently, 28 countries have ratified the treaty, but at least 60 are required for it to take effect. Roberts is optimistic that more nations will commit during the conference.

Barquet views the conference as pivotal, not only for its immediate outcomes but also in reshaping the ocean’s role within the broader global sustainability dialogue.

“It’s no longer enough to talk about the ocean as a separate issue. As the climate regulator, carbon sink, and lifeline for billions of people, the ocean is central to both planetary health and human security,” she argued.

She also highlighted the significance of the anticipated Nice Ocean Action Plan. “The focus is on what happens after: will it be implemented in ways that support high-level treaties like the High Seas Agreement and the daily realities of coastal communities facing climate and infrastructure pressures?”

Ocean finance is another key agenda item for Barquet. “The potential of the blue economy is significant, but without fair access to capital and transparent and sustainable governance, we risk repeating past mistakes,” she warned.

Sustainability and protection

Reflecting on the conference’s theme, ‘Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean,’ Roberts emphasized the urgent need for greater financial commitments and broad cooperation across private and public sectors.

Roberts and fellow marine scientists have proposed bold measures.

“One of the proposals we are making is to protect all international waters from all extractive use forever. It is fully justified by the science, and by protecting this international space, we would be able to better exploit and manage successfully the part of the ocean that lies within national waters,” Roberts said.

Barquet, meanwhile, called for inclusivity in ocean governance, highlighting groups traditionally excluded from policy decisions.

“Small-scale fishers, coastal youth, and Indigenous groups often carry the cost of ocean degradation but have the least access to political power or financial tools,” she noted.

Another critical issue she pointed out is managing competing maritime interests. “The ocean is no longer just a source of food and biodiversity; it’s now a site of geopolitical and industrial competition,” Barquet observed.

“Offshore wind, aquaculture, maritime transport, and conservation are all expanding at the same time. If we’re serious about sustainable ocean use, we need tools and governance frameworks that support multifunctionality and coexistence. That’s what we’re showcasing through our policy dialogues and research on marine spatial planning and conflict resolution.”

Ultimately, Barquet called on nations to protect oceans through comprehensive, integrated approaches that extend beyond marine protected areas. “This means integrating climate-ocean thinking into finance, planning, and security – not treating the ocean as a passive victim of climate change, but as a frontline actor in how we respond.”