The MENA Oceans Network
is a groundbreaking collaborative platform uniting diverse ocean-linked stakeholders across the Middle East and North Africa region.
About The Network
Announced at COP28 UAE in the Ocean Pavilion, with high-level support from global ocean leaders and in strategic partnership with the UN Climate High Level Champions, the Network is a collaborative platform dedicated to accelerating regional ocean action by bringing together policymakers, academics, researchers, private sector innovators, and youth and community representatives.
Through knowledge sharing, targeted action on critical gaps, and solutions-focused Working Groups, the Network works to break silos and build strategic partnerships to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems, advance blue economy pathways, and address shared regional priorities and transboundary challenges.
Network Members
A cross-sectoral group of public and private organisations involved in improving outcomes for marine and coastal sustainability across MENA through science-driven, regionally grounded solutions.
As recognised leaders in their fields, Members help shape the Network’s strategic direction and inform priority‑setting across its shared agenda. Through their insights, experience, and commitment to advancing collaborative pathways, they help ensure the Network remains grounded in regional realities and responsive to emerging opportunities.
Domain Specialists
Esteemed experts who contribute to the Network in their individual capacity, bringing deep technical, policy, or academic expertise across key areas of marine and coastal sustainability in the region.
Domain Specialists offer insight, thought leadership, and specialised knowledge to help illuminate emerging issues, strengthen the evidence base for action, and connect the Network to leading research, practice, and policy thinking across MENA.
As part of the MENA Oceans Network, Members and Domain Specialists gain exclusive access to a curated and highly committed group of leading regional and international entities and experts working at the forefront of ocean action.
The Network and its Working Groups enable insight and knowledge sharing, and opportunities to shape cross-sectoral dialogue and co-designing solutions that address the region’s most pressing challenges, with a clear focus on breaking down silos between stakeholder groups.
- Partnership announcement on MENA Oceans LinkedIn page spotlighting Members’ ongoing efforts and commitment to ocean health in MENA and beyond
- Network Logo permissions for use across Members’ marketing and communications materials
- Branding and logo placement on relevant Network collaterals, including website (network page) brochures, Newsletter, and PR materials
- Feature segments for Members in MENA Oceans Newsletter and the MENA Oceans Initiative website insights section to showcase best practices and case studies
- Access to Member directory with introductions as required
- Invitation to participate in milestone events, sectoral consultation workshops, online sessions, and partner events as relevant across all framework categories within the MENA Oceans Initiative
- Invitations to contribute as speakers at virtual Network Meetings and join Network Working Groups to co-develop sector-specific solutions, with acknowledgement and co-branding
- Invitation to join as contributors, attendees and advisors on programmes and convenings within the MENA Oceans Initiative as relevant to scope of work and expertise, including the Blue Economies for Coastal Resilience (BEFCR) Programme.
Our Objectives
About The Network
The MENA Oceans Network was announced at COP28 UAE in the Ocean Pavilion, with high-level support from global ocean leaders including UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Amb. Peter Thomson; Ex-Ocean Lead of the UN Climate Change High Level Champions Team Ignace Beguin Billecocq; Chief Economist at the UN-UAE Resident Office Dr. Raidan Al Saqqaf, and Executive Director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Ahmed Alhashmi.
The Network is a collaborative platform dedicated to accelerating regional ocean action by bringing together policymakers, academics, researchers, private sector innovators, and youth and community representatives.
Through knowledge sharing, targeted action on critical gaps, and solutions-focused working groups, the Network works to break silos and build strategic partnerships to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems, advance sustainable blue economies, and address shared regional priorities and transboundary challenges, benefitting the MENA region’s marine environments and coastal communities.
Founding Members
A curated and highly committed group of leading regional and international organisations and institutions working at the forefront of ocean action in the MENA region.
Founding Members
A curated and highly committed group of leading regional and international organisations and institutions working at the forefront of ocean action in the MENA region.
Members
Domain Specialists
Leading experts in marine and coastal sustainability — from policy to research to technical practice — providing trusted guidance and insights that advance our collective impact.
Working Groups
Working Groups bring diverse regional task forces including Network Members and Domain Specialists from relevant domains in policy, industry, and academia together around key thematic areas within our scope of work.
MENA Desalination Working Group
Inaugurated at a dedicated Deep-Dive Session at the MENA Oceans Summit 2025, with Roland Berger as Knowledge Partner, this Working Group aims to co-develop a regional brine management protocol and policy recommendations to help align sector growth with improved outcomes for ocean health and biodiversity. The guidelines will also scope out innovative solutions that support the delivery of identified protocols.
Why Join?
- Access to a unique, cross-sector collaborative platform that fosters innovative solutions to regional ocean challenges;
- Opportunity to contribute to and benefit from shared knowledge and resources, amplifying individual efforts for greater collective impact; and
- Direct involvement in shaping policies and initiatives that will define the future of ocean conservation and sustainable blue economies in the MENA region.
Become a Member
Insights & News
From Turning Point to Delivery: Ocean, Climate, and the MENA Moment
Contributed by Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna Senior Advisor to the President and Director on Ocean and Climate...
How a Tunisian Island Is Leading Seagrass Restoration in the Mediterranean
Contributed by Nada Abdelkader (Marine Ecologist; MENA Oceans Network Domain Specialist) A team of Tunisian...
An Action Plan to Save the Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Once common across the western Indian Ocean, the humpback dolphin now persists in small, shrinking...
