MARE and ARNET attend UNOC3 in Nice
From June 9 to 13, MARE and ARNET attended the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France. The event, co-organized by France and Costa Rica, brought together world leaders, international agencies, local authorities, civil society organizations, the private sector and international investors under the motto: “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.”
MARE was represented by Director Pedro Raposo de Almeida and Board members João Canning-Clode, Helena Adão and Zara Teixeira, reinforcing the active role of Portuguese science in the international agenda for ocean sustainability.
The conference was also attended by other MARE researchers, such as Paula Sobral and João Franco, as well as important institutional collaborators such as José Guerreiro, current President of IPMA - the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere - and Adelaide Ferreira, also working at IPMA.
Throughout the week, MARE's representatives followed up on Portugal's commitments to the protection and sustainable management of the ocean. Among the highlights were the Marine Ecosystem Accounts for the National Maritime Space, a fundamental tool for integrating the value of marine ecosystems into national policy and the economy; the National Action Plan for Marine Litter (PALM2028), which aims to combat one of the greatest threats to the oceans; and the commitment to developing a national action plan to tackle ocean acidification, in collaboration with the Ocean Acidification Alliance.
The main objective of UNOC3 was to accelerate global action for the ocean, with three central priorities: to successfully conclude multilateral processes related to the ocean and raise global ambition for its protection; to mobilize funding for SDG 14 and promote the development of a sustainable blue economy; and to strengthen and disseminate marine scientific knowledge as a basis for effective public policies.
The strong representation of MARE and ARNET at this global conference underlines the role of Portuguese science in defining international strategies for ocean sustainability, actively contributing to the construction of the ambitious Nice Ocean Action Plan.