MENA Oceans Global Programmes

Supporting the Maritime Breakthrough and its partner organizations, we convene stakeholder consultation workshops across the maritime value chain to gather feedback on the development of the Maritime Biodiversity Plan, which aims to link maritime decarbonisation efforts with ocean biodiversity.

The project focuses on integrating ocean health and biodiversity into sectoral strategies, collecting regional input through workshops such as the UAE Maritime Sectoral Deep Dive. This feedback informs the first draft of the 2030 Marine Biodiversity and Ocean Health Maritime Breakthrough Goal and Roadmap, shared at COP29 in Azerbaijan, with the final version to be presented at the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice.

Led by MENA Oceans and six key partners—Marrakech Partnership, UN High-Level Climate Champions, The Sustainable Shipping Initiative, UN Foundation, Equal Routes, Ocean & Climate Platform, and UN Global Compact—the project  fosters collaboration across stakeholders, aligning science, policy, and industry to deliver sustainable maritime solutions.

Download “Sustainable Maritime Decarbonisation for Healthy Oceans” Insights Paper.

In the lead-up to the UN Ocean Conference 2025, MENA Oceans is mobilizing regional stakeholders by curating MENA-focused programming for UNOC-3 and co-hosting key events such as the Blue Talks in the lead up to UNOC3: from Riyadh to Nice.

Blue Talks in the lead up to UNOC3: from Riyadh to Nice “Towards resilient ocean and coastal futures” UNOC Middle East Regional Consultation, proposes to serve as a pivotal forum for high-level dialogue to recognise the regional momentum that prioritises ocean action, define regional ocean priorities and shape the MENA region's contributions to the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), setting the stage for meaningful action at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) and beyond.

This strategic multi-stakeholder discussion will feature panel discussions on important topics linking ocean governance – science – blue economies – finance; and will be facilitated by Ashok Adiceam, Deputy Special Envoy for UNOC3, France, to engage Arab ministries, embassies, senior leaders from key blue economy sectors, regulatory authorities, UN bodies, scientists, financiers and civil society organisations in a high level exchange on key developments for the Ocean.

Expected Outcomes:

• Actionable regional priorities: A consolidated agenda of ocean-positive priorities, projects and achievements from the MENA region that could be highlighted during UNOC side events, further feeding into the ocean action agenda.
• Aligned ocean governance frameworks: Raising the ambition for ocean protection through successful integration of ocean related multilateral processes into national ocean sustainability plans (including high seas treaty, plastics treaty, fisheries treaty)
• Strengthened science-led partnerships: Enhanced collaboration to disseminate scientific knowledge, innovations and evidence based solutions for informed decision making by policy makers and the private sector.
• Mobilising investments: Strategic recommendations for driving financing towards sustainable ocean projects, blue economy initiatives and the development of the Invest in Ocean Fund being launched by France / UNOC.

MENA Oceans and the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) are spearheading the development of the MENA Mangrove Knowledge Hub to address regional priorities for collaborative learning.

Through quarterly virtual workshops, the Hub will bridge knowledge gaps, facilitate expertise sharing, and drive the creation of regional best- practice guidelines for science-based mangrove restoration. This initiative aligns with GMA’s global objectives of halting mangrove loss, doubling protection, and restoring half of the world’s lost mangroves by 2030. Insights from stakeholder consultations are shaping the Hub’s programming to ensure impactful, region-specific outcomes.

The Blue Economies for Coastal Resilience (BECR) initiative aims to enhance sustainability across key blue economy sectors such as shipping, renewables, coastal development, desalination, and fisheries. Through regional consultations, a comprehensive landscape analysis, and collaboration with experts, it identifies challenges and opportunities to integrate climate resilience, ecosystem health, and sustainable urban planning. The initiative will deliver a coastal cities framework, including a blueprint and guidelines to drive impactful solutions for resilient and sustainable coastal communities.