Highlights and images for 20 March 2023

The 14th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI 14) convened as part of the Monaco Ocean Week, and brought together representatives from governments, the private sector, financial and scientific institutions, and civil society. Discussions took place during four sessions, which addressed the following topics:

• sustainable fisheries, and reconciling conservation and exploitation in the next decade and beyond;
• highly protected marine protected areas (MPAs), what is at stake, and the vision for 2030;
• the role of marine ecosystem restoration in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and
• raising ambition and scaling solutions for a protected, resilient, and sustainable Mediterranean Sea.

The meeting was moderated by Yalda Hakim, BBC World News.

In his welcome address, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco drew attention to the recently-agreed UN treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas and the UN-endorsed goal of protecting 30 percent of the world’s Ocean by 2030. He urged participants to consider ways to harness new will, set up projects, and find resources.

Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President of Costa Rica, stressed that “vision without action is hallucination.” On seabed mining, he called for science-based decision making. Huang Runqiu, China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment, in a video message, listed several recent Chinese developments in the area of environmental governance, including CO2 emission reductions, improved surface water quality and pollution control, scaling up of renewable energy, and industrial restructuring.

Discussions took place in panels and in informal “fireside chats” between moderator Hakim and several experts and high-level officials. Many speakers identified recent milestones in global Ocean governance, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,  established under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the newly-agreed UN high seas treaty. Speakers called for science-based action, involvement of the private sector, and additional financing and capacity building for sustainable Ocean management.

In one of the “fireside chats,” Patricia Scotland KC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, said SDG 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the Oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) remains the least funded SDG, receiving only 0.1 percent of development finance while it represents 95 percent of the planet's living space. She urged participants not to give up, saying “we have the opportunity to choose to make the difference that is needed in the world.”

In a closing statement, Robert Calcagno, CEO of the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation, said the MBI has delivered on its promise of convening key Ocean stakeholders in a spirit of cooperation. He recalled major progress over the past 15 years, noting that the Ocean has become much more prominent in environmental negotiations.

Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, called for actions to be scaled up and for a holistic approach to solving the world’s Ocean-related challenges. Advocating for transparent sharing of data and expertise, he highlighted the role of the MBI as a forum to reconcile Ocean protection and a blue economy.

Moderator Hakim closed the meeting at 6:15 pm.

The meeting took place at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco on 20 March 2023. The MBI brings together major players in Ocean conservation and governance in annual debates to explore solutions to challenges facing our Ocean and to promote a sustainable blue economy. Launched in 2010 by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the MBI is co-organized annually by the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation, and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary of this meeting will be available on Wednesday, 22 March 20223.