Last week we attended 2 international ocean events:
- 9th Our Ocean Conference in Greece
- Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting in Cyprus.
The events saw progress towards ensuring the world's ocean remains healthy and productive, as part of our commitment to a nature positive world.
Our Ocean Conference (OOC-9)
Providing a forum for global dialogue on ocean issues, the OOC-9 was held from 15-17 April in Greece.
OOC-9 focussed on six running themes:
- promoting marine protected areas
- fostering a sustainable blue economy
- tackling the climate crisis
- supporting maritime security
- advancing sustainable fisheries
- combating marine pollution.
OOC-9 provided an opportunity for us to build relationships with a range of ocean leaders. This will help inform our development and implementation of:
- Australia's Sustainable Ocean Plan
- ocean elements of the Global Nature Positive Summit later this year.
Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting
In the days following OOC-9, the first Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting occurred in Cyprus.
The theme of the meeting was 'Our Resilient Common Ocean: from Cyprus to Samoa'. Its aim was to establish the principles, priorities, and actions for a Commonwealth Ocean Declaration.
Leaders decided on a roadmap for the declaration. This will pave the way for the adoption of the declaration at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa later this year.
Through strong environmental leadership at home and abroad, we are working with partners to achieve a nature positive future.
