Author: Marides Santos
The 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice was a wake-up call—and an opportunity. Yes, progress was made. The Nice Ocean Action Plan was adopted, 50 countries ratified the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), and calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining grew louder. But if we’re serious about protecting the ocean, we need to go beyond technical fixes and market solutions. Ocean health is social health.
Social development must be a core metric of ocean action. The ocean sustains millions of livelihoods, especially in small island and coastal communities. It regulates our climate, feeds us, and connects our cultures. Yet, the dominant models of development driving ocean degradation still center profit, not people. That’s why the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development must confront these root causes.
The NGO Committee for Social Development calls for a new global social contract—one that elevates well-being, equity, and sustainability over short-term accumulation. That shift is urgently needed in how we govern the ocean. Civil society at UNOC3, including faith-based groups like “Faith in the Ocean,” championed a rights-based and values-driven approach to ocean care. Their call: protect both ecosystems and the people who depend on them, especially those most marginalized.
We can’t achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14—or any SDG—without integrating social justice. The ocean isn’t a commodity. It’s a living system tied to human dignity. As we head toward the Doha summit in November, let’s align ocean policy with social development goals. Only then can we claim real progress—measured not just in percentages, but in lives improved and ecosystems restored.
