The Conference ended with a landmark series of major announcements and commitments which represent a substantive first step towards achieving the above priorities including the following:
Launch of a roadmap for cooperation between IOC/UNESCO and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation in the framework of the Ocean Decade.
Launch of new Ocean Decade programmes on sustainable ocean planning, and sustainable ocean management in Africa.
Commitment by the Barcelona City Council and the Port of Barcelona to develop a Decade Collaborative Centre focusing on sustainable ocean economy.
Launch of the Ocean Matcher Tool to enhance opportunities for philanthropic funding to Decade Actions.
Launch of new funding opportunities for Africa through the Belmont Forum, and SIDS through the Marine Institute, Ireland.
Launch of the Cities with the Ocean Platform to enhance the use of science for policy and decision-making by coastal cities, including the offer of Qingdao Municipality to host the first Ocean Decade Coastal Cities Conference in 2025.
During the Closing Session, the speakers celebrated the successful conclusion of the three-day international gathering, which brought insights, feedback, and solutions through productive discussions and collaborations. These negotiations underscore the pivotal role of the Ocean Decade in catalyzing transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development, guiding a visionary path towards 2030. The Conference concluded by setting the tone for further collective and concrete actions, outlined in the newly launched 2024 Ocean Decade Barcelona Statement. Based on insights shared by the global ocean community, the Statement identifies the priority areas of action for the Ocean Decade in the coming years. Vidar Helgesen, IOC/UNESCO Executive Secretary and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO called to consider it as an actionable framework to be included in implemented scenarios to orient, guide, and refine existing initiatives, as well as new ones, on local, national, and global scales.
