The 11th annual Our Ocean Conference opened this week in Mombasa, Kenya, marking the first time an African nation has hosted the landmark global gathering focused on reversing decades of damage to the world’s oceans. The event, which brought together hundreds of senior delegates from 56 Commonwealth nations, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable small island states across the Caribbean and Pacific, opened with a unified call to turn long-stated ocean conservation pledges into tangible, on-the-ground action — starting with immediate execution of the historic High Seas Treaty.
Formally named the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, the treaty entered into force in January this year after securing ratification from 60 countries around the globe. For the first time in history, the agreement establishes a binding legal framework to create fully protected marine areas in international waters, a critical step toward hitting the global 30×30 conservation target that aims to safeguard 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.
Speaking at the opening of the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers’ Roundtable during the conference, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the slow pace of progress despite the treaty’s entry into force. While the global community has now hit a milestone of protecting 10 percent of the world’s oceans, Kerry noted that only 3 percent of that area qualifies as highly or fully protected. Most existing ocean protections, he argued, remain nothing more than lines drawn on official maps, with no meaningful enforcement or conservation measures in place.
Kerry further criticized unregulated industrial fishing activity, pointing out that large distant-water fleets travel thousands of miles from their home ports and deploy massive nets that capture non-target marine life indiscriminately, devastating vulnerable open-ocean ecosystems. He urged all nations that have not yet ratified the treaty to complete the process immediately, and called on parties that have already ratified to begin full implementation without delay. Key decisions shaping the treaty’s long-term governance framework are scheduled to be made next year, making the coming months a critical window for action.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Maritime Affairs, Hassan Joho, echoed this call, emphasizing that global conservation efforts must shift from making promises to delivering measurable results. Since the first Our Ocean Conference was held in 2014, the global gathering has generated more than 2,900 separate conservation pledges totaling over $169 billion in committed funding. Joho stressed that the core challenge now facing the global community is turning these financial and policy pledges into effective, long-term management of fragile marine ecosystems that benefit coastal communities and national economies alike.
The 56 member states of the Commonwealth collectively control 36 percent of the world’s total ocean jurisdiction and hold stewardship over nearly half of the planet’s coral reefs, giving the bloc an outsized role and unique responsibility in global marine conservation. For its part, Africa is increasingly emerging as a leading voice in global ocean governance, a shift Kerry highlighted during his remarks. He praised the continent for leading transboundary conservation efforts, pointing specifically to a landmark commitment by eight Gulf of Guinea nations to sustainably manage 100 percent of their collective national waters by 2030.
“Africa, a region long framed as a victim of unregulated ocean exploitation, is now stepping forward to lead global conservation action,” Kerry said.
As host of this year’s conference, Kenya has already implemented a series of progressive ocean policies: it has adopted integrated coastal zone management frameworks, expanded the total area of its national marine protected areas, and ramped up enforcement efforts to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The East African nation’s 400-mile coastline and extensive exclusive economic zone support key economic sectors including commercial fishing and coastal tourism, which sustain livelihoods for millions of Kenyans.
As delegates continued negotiations in Mombasa, many attendees noted that the policy and regulatory decisions made over the coming months will determine whether the High Seas Treaty becomes a transformative tool for global marine conservation, or joins a long list of unfulfilled international environmental promises.
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