Communities of Ocean Action

As a follow-up on outcomes of the UN Ocean Conference (held in June 2017), the United Nations launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder “Communities of Ocean Action”. They are as follows:

  1. Mangroves
  2. Coral reefs
  3. Ocean acidification
  4. Marine and coastal ecosystems management
  5. Sustainable fisheries
  6. Marine pollution
  7. Sustainable blue economy
  8. Scientific knowledge, research capacity development and transfer of marine technology
  9. Implementation of international law as reflected in UNCLOS

The communities are meant to generate new voluntary commitments and support collaboration across the many stakeholders implementing the Sustainable Development Goal on the ocean (SDG 14 on life below water).

The Coral Reef Community is co-facilitated by the UN Environment and ICRI, with the following objectives:

  • Further implementation and performance of registered Voluntary Commitments;
  • Catalyse and generate new and additional Voluntary Commitments; and
  • Increase opportunities for collaboration and networking in support of SDG 14.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their coral reef-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

As of April 2019 over 130 voluntary commitments related to coral reefs have been made. These include activities aimed at their protection, management and restoration, as well as maintaining tangible benefits to coastal communities from coral reef fisheries and tourism. The commitments cover both local and global initiatives.

There was a meeting of the Communities of Ocean Action “From Commitments to Action: Implementing SDG14” in May 2019 (Incheon, South Korea). The aim of the meeting was to share best practices and experiences amongst the members of different Communities of Ocean Action and any interested stakeholders, to provide partnership opportunities and to catalyze further pledges for ocean action.

For more information, visit: https://oceanconference.un.org/coa/CoralReefs

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