The United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) took place in June, in France, and was the third major global gathering aimed at accelerating action on SDG 14 (“Life Below Water”). The conference spotlighted key ocean issues, from marine protection and plastics to deep-sea mining and finance.
Ocean Ledger was honoured to receive special accreditation which allowed the team to have access to the Blue Zone where key topics were discussed and decisions made. For us, it was an opportunity to connect with our Ocean community and peers, and join some important conversations. Paige reflects on the events and our participation.
It was incredible to witness a string of exciting announcements: major coalitions, financial commitments, and initiatives that signal a monumental opportunity for private companies and investors to play an active, supportive role in ocean stewardship.
A major highlight was the privilege of joining the roundtable discussion on the BBNJ agreement hosted by UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform and Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. What is BBNJ? = Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, a legally binding instrument signed by 130 countries to support conservation and sustainable use of marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction, aka ~61% of the Earth's oceans.
Why does this matter? BBNJ introduces:
- Requirements for marine protected areas
- Environmental impact assessments in the high seas
- Capacity building and technology transfer mechanisms
- A financial mechanism, the Special Fund, to support developing countries
This Special Fund is meant to receive contributions from developed countries, and voluntary contributions from both public and private players. Now, here's the reality check: The structure, governance, and how the voluntary contributions will work, are up in the air. Banks want to be involved, like they’ve done in tropical forest finance facilities TFFF, but they’re asking: “Can we have a simple KPI to raise financing?”.
Meanwhile, researchers and nonprofits who live the complexities on the water are saying, understandably so, “It’s not that simple.”Not exactly a new debate....but it raises an important point: How much can we learn from land-based conservation finance when we're talking about conserving the middle of the ocean? Financing mechanisms, governance, and metrics seem to be 100x more complicated to put in place. We run the risk of getting bogged down in creating so many new metrics that cause confusion and then we'll just fund a decade of BBNJ-specific consulting which we don't have time for.
The good news? Everyone I spoke with recognises this risk. There’s a shared urgency to test, fail, and learn...fast. So where do we start?
- Define what we mean by “private sector”!
- Understand the actual cost of implementing the Special Fund
- Think about realistic voluntary incentives for financial and corporate contributors, who do not have any role in governing or monitoring how those funds are spent.
I’m biased here, but I believe the public and commercial satellite industry will play a huge role to define, measure and monitor country initiatives. SkyTruth are a great example of this. Huge credit to Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) who always bring the right people together to define and debate these important topics, I’m eagerly awaiting the next roundtable. Let’s keep the momentum going!
