UNOC 2025: AFD honors France’s ocean commitments

Nice, June 13, 2025. Five days of debates, major announcements, and a strong focus on international mobilization to achieve the shared goal of protecting the oceans. At the third edition of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), co-organized by France and Costa Rica, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group took a leading role in structuring the form and content of these discussions.

In the heart of the summit’s Green Zone, the "Archipelago" pavilion hosted close to 30,000 people over the week, including elected officials, students, artists, NGO representatives and scientists. 50 events were held in total, covering a wide variety of themes. Culture was high on the agenda: with the Metis Fund unveiling The Ocean Manifesto, a socially-conscious collection of work by around a hundred artists from all over the world, united by their strong connection to the ocean.

This event also provided an opportunity for young people to have their say. Around 400 high school students took part in a full-scale environmental negotiation simulation, organized in partnership with the Academy of Nice. To mark this occasion, AFD unveiled its new educational booklet, designed with the French Ministry of National Education, to help teachers and students better understand the threats endangering the oceans and take informed action.

Another major highlight of this event involved the presentation of the special “Seas and Oceans” award, following the competition by the “Reinventing the World” podcast for Youth Day on June 12.

From institutional debates to events for the general public, this multi-format conference was an opportunity for AFD to bring France’s major ocean priorities to the fore. But what exactly are these priorities? And how has AFD helped to put them into action? Eight strategic areas were front and center of the UNOC debates.

1. High Seas and Biodiversity: A first step towards an ambitious goal

Little is known about the high seas, which lie outside of national jurisdictions, but cover nearly half the planet. Long overlooked by conservation efforts, they are now attracting increasing attention on the international scene.

AFD thus took this opportunity to grant €1 million in financing to the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB), which will be used to prepare for one of the first “Marine Protected Areas”, located between the Crozet Islands (Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of France) and the Prince Edward and Marion Islands (EEZ of South Africa). This project marks a major step forward for the implementation of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (known as the “BBNJ Agreement”) – a landmark international treaty adopted in 2023 to protect marine biodiversity beyond the EEZs of countries.

The UNOC also served as a catalyst to accelerate the agreement’s entry into force, scheduled for next September at the UN General Assembly, and laid the ground for the first COP on its implementation in 2026.

2. Marine Protected Areas: Increasing north-south alliances

Establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is one of the most effective ways of preserving marine ecosystems. Restricting human activity in certain key areas allows biodiversity to regenerate and improves the overall health of oceans. They are also essential to achieving the global target to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, set by the international community at the COP15 summit on biodiversity.

AFD, which already supports over 200 MPAs around the world, has consolidated its commitment in this field with several flagship projects. A North-South cooperation agreement was signed between the South Region and Costa Rica to support MPA management and raise awareness among local populations (€1.8 million in financing committed by AFD). 

At the same time, AFD announced a new €2.5 million contribution to the Blue Action Fund, a multilateral public fund aimed at protecting MPAs in developing countries. This additional financing brings its total contribution to €12.5 million, demonstrating AFD's ongoing support for marine conservation.

3. Sustainable fisheries: resilience is key

Often practiced by local communities, small-scale fisheries are both an economic mainstay and essential for food security. Making these activities more sustainable means continuing to feed communities while preserving the balance of marine ecosystems. In line with this conservation work, AFD announced plans to ramp up support for sustainable value chains in the fishing sector, with the aim of improving the living conditions of coastal communities while protecting marine resources.

Announced in Nice, the Kounki project will be implemented in Guinea (totaling €119 million, with €24 million from AFD) to help structure the small-scale fishing sector and support coastal communities.

Lastly, CONAPESCA (National Commission on Aquaculture and Fisheries) announced the creation of a network of fishing refuge areas in Mexico, an initiative backed by a public policy loan for sustainable fisheries financed by AFD.

4. Working together to combat plastic pollution

Limiting plastic waste is essential, as one of the most visible and long-lasting forms of marine pollution and a blight on the oceans. At UNOC 2025, AFD and its partners took a collective and landmark step, renewing their commitment to implement the second phase of the Clean Ocean Initiative (COI 2.0). Launched in 2018, the Clean Ocean Initiative, an alliance of European public development banks, crossed a symbolic milestone this year, having already pledged €4 billion to combat ocean pollution.

As its biggest contributor at 42%, AFD announced the launch of the initiative’s second phase at the UNOC, along with its partners: an additional €3 billion will be committed between 2026 and 2030, and performance monitoring indicators introduced. A new multilateral partner, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also joined the coalition.

5. Maritime transport: Ports in transition

Global trade depends on efficient ports, but this infrastructure requires a major overhaul to meet climate challenges. AFD is supporting cleaner and more resilient shipping transport by helping ports become more sustainable.

To this end, AFD signed a letter of intent with Cape Verde to support its Blue Ports Strategy, which aims to develop sustainable, more environmentally-friendly ports that are better adapted to climate change.

6. Blue Finance: public development banks join forces to meet a common goal

Targets for the ocean must be based on sound financial engineering principles. Alongside UNOC, the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) reinforced this shared foundation. A new alliance was therefore established at the Blue Economy Finance Forum (BEFF). Held on June 7 and 8, 2025, in the lead-up to the UNOC, the summit was attended by 20 public financial institutions, including multilateral, bilateral, and national banks. Collectively, these institutions invest over $7.5 billion per year in the sustainable blue economy. By committing to maximizing the impact of their operations, diversifying their financial instruments, and aligning their actions more closely with international standards, the coalition members have clearly laid out their common goal of leveraging financing to protect the oceans.

Launched by AFD in 2024, the Blue Carbon Facility – a mechanism aimed at protecting and restoring the carbon sinks of coastal ecosystems (such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes) to combat climate change — was also at the forefront at the UNOC, with pilot projects being launched in Costa Rica, Tunisia, and Ecuador.

7. Territorial governance: Coastal territories in the spotlight

With issues such as submerged coastlines, accelerating coastal erosion and weakened infrastructure, coastal cities and territories are on the front line when it comes to the effects of climate change. AFD has therefore reaffirmed its commitment to shared ocean governance. Alongside the city council of Nice, it helped set up a coalition of coastal cities and regions, at the behest of the President of the French Republic. Working in territories such as Cape Town, Porto-Novo, and Rio Grande, AFD is already supporting numerous cities in adapting to climate change.

8. Better understanding for better protection: supporting science-based ocean policies

Effective ocean protection relies on robust scientific knowledge. During UNOC 2025, AFD championed science and research work, highlighting several pioneering projects.

Prior to the conference, a day event entitled "Perspectives of Overseas France" was organized in Paris on June 3. This meeting highlighted the specific challenges faced by overseas territories, and was attended by researchers, decision-makers, and representatives from the three ocean basins.

Two publications were also presented in partnership with Ifremer, BlueESGAP, IRD, CNRS, and the University of Montpellier. The first paper sets out a new blue accounting method based on a sustainability gap analysis (Blue ESGAP), applied to Southeast Asia. The second publication details an initiative to train young researchers in marine chemical pollution measurement techniques.

All these initiatives help anchor ocean policy in collective and accessible scientific expertise.