Since Monday 9ᵗʰ June and until Friday 13ᵗʰ, more than sixty heads of state and government, including many leaders from the Pacific and Latin America, are meeting in Nice, on the French Riviera, for the 3ʳᵈ United Nation Ocean Conference (UNOC3) aimed at better protecting an overheated, polluted and overfished ocean. This UNOC3 is co-chaired by France and Costa Rica.
The Samoan delegation is led by Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata‘afa. Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Pose Salesa Schuster is accompanying the Prime Minister.
Independently, the Apia-based Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has sent an important delegation to Nice.
This conference will lead to the adoption of the Nice Ocean Action Plan that will consist of a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from all stakeholders. The priorities of this Conference were set out by the President of the French Republic at the “SOS Ocean” event in Paris on March 31 and include the entry into force of the International Agreement for the Protection of the High Seas and Marine Biodiversity (the so-called “BBNJ” Agreement), the decision to at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (Global Biodiversity Framework target 30×30), a declaration to fight against plastic pollution and the promotion of sustainable fisheries respectful of ecosystems, for our global food sovereignty. Decarbonisation of maritime transport and supporting science and research to better understand the ocean are additional goals of this conference.
In his opening address, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “While the Earth is warming, the ocean is boiling”: He called for “mobilization”, explaining that “The first response is therefore multilateralism,”. “The climate, like biodiversity, is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of scientifically established facts,” he also insisted. Later on, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also took this view, denouncing “the threat of unilateralism” hanging over the oceans: “We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea,” declared President Lula, calling for “clear action” from the International Seabed Authority, while Donald Trump plans to unilaterally authorize the industrial exploitation of minerals at the bottom of the Pacific.
President Macron also insisted that Greenland, which he is due to visit at the end of the week but is coveted by Donald Trump’s United States, was “not for sale.” “The abyss is not for sale, and no more than Greenland is for sale, nor is Antarctica or the high seas for sale,” the French president declared.
Shortly after, UN Secretary General, who visited Samoa in 2024, declared that the deep seabed must not become a “Far West.” “I hope we can turn this around. That we can replace plunder with protection,” Mr Gutteres added.
Mr. Macron also assured that the High Seas and Marine Biodiversity (the so-called “BBNJ” Agreement) would be ratified by enough countries to enter into force. “In addition to the fifty ratifications already submitted here in the last few hours, fifteen countries have formally committed to joining them,” Emmanuel Macron declared. Samoa is one of them. “This means that the political agreement has been reached, which allows us to say that this High Seas Treaty will be properly implemented. So it’s a done deal,” he added, without specifying a timeline. The treaty, signed in 2023, will enter into force 120 days after the sixtieth ratification. France initially hoped to obtain these sixty ratifications by the Nice conference.
Finally, several countries could also use the Nice summit to announce the creation of new marine protected areas or the banning of certain fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, in some of them. France announced on Saturday, through Emmanuel Macron, a limitation of bottom trawling in its marine protected areas (MPAs) to preserve the seabed, but failed to convince NGOs, who criticized the “lack of ambition” of these announcements.
Many side events are also taking place during this week during this largest conference ever organized for the protection of the oceans.
Prime Minister Fiame addressed the audience in her capacity of a leader of an island country that is a victim of climate change, in particular the sea rise. Samoa has taken very strong decision recently in favour of the protection of the environment. And sent a good signal before the UN Conference of Nice, in adopting on 6 June its Marine Spatial Plan, a milestone step to fully protect 30 per cent (%) and ensure sustainable management of 100 per cent (%) of its vast ocean 120,000-square-kilometer ocean territory. Doing such, Samoa became one of the first Pacific Island nations to adopt a legally binding plan.
