The Future of the Oceans and Seas – Conference on International Ocean Governance

The large number of participants at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice clearly demonstrated the growing global importance of the oceans and seas. A wide range of different events at the conference reflected the entire spectrum of marine policy issues and at the same time reflected the very different interests. This year’s conference in Berlin will therefore provide a review of UNOC 2025 on the one hand and address the current debates on the tension between the protection and sustainable use of the oceans and seas on the other.

The current geopolitical upheavals and growing competition are increasingly being reflected in the oceans. This not only affects maritime security policy and shipping, but changes are also taking place internationally in marine research and maritime raw materials policy. Changes that are ultimately far-reaching in nature and even call into question the basic rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, while on the other hand BBNJ is about to enter into force, which is a success of multilateral cooperation and is intended to extend the reach of the law of the sea.