EU Pledges Over €300 Million for Ocean Conservation

The European Union announced €301,485,000 ($342.7 million) in EU funding to support actions in the fields of the sustainable blue economy, marine pollution, marine protected areas, digital oceans, sustainable fisheries, and ocean and climate change.

The announcement was made at the Our Ocean Conference in Busan. The Conference is an international event, launched in 2014 and hosted by a different country each year, aiming to foster global ocean governance and action to support marine conservation and sustainable development.

The European Union has committed to:

Sustainable blue economy: €120 million to help African and Pacific countries strengthen ocean governance and develop their blue economy in a sustainable manner. This corresponds to €58 million for the Western Indian Ocean and €42 million for Central Africa, and €20 million for the Pacific.

Marine pollution: €65.5 million to fight marine pollution: €18 million to develop a comprehensive European strategy for assessing and monitoring aquatic litter, €43.5 million to support authorities eliminating pollution and transitioning to a more climate-neutral and circular blue economy, and €4 millions of technical assistance to support up to 50 targeted communities in preparing transition agendas, driving local change and promoting sustainable practices.

Marine protected areas: €40 million to support partner countries in their efforts to preserve and sustainably manage marine biodiversity areas and swiftly ratify the Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, also known as the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty.

Digital ocean: Through the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters, €30 million are committed to the Digital Twin Ocean.

Sustainable fisheries: €2.5 million to support the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to effectively fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Ocean and climate change: €985.000 to strengthen the ‘International Platform for Ocean Sustainability' (IPOS), to enhance the exchange of scientific knowledge and policy expertise, driving informed decision-making for ocean conservation.