Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson urges bold ocean action in Paris ahead of UN conference

Last week, renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson joined global leaders in Paris for “SOS Ocean,” a high-level gathering held March 30-31 at the Musée National de la Marine.

Under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron and in collaboration with the Oceano Azul Foundation, the event convened policymakers, scientists and advocates to confront urgent ocean challenges as France and Costa Rica prepare to host the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in Nice in two months.

The SOS Ocean convening aimed to shape the “Nice Ocean Action Plan,” a five-year agenda which will be negotiated during UNOC and is designed to prioritize ocean protection and restoration and support implementation of sustainable development goal SDG14: Life Below Water. Presentations at the convening highlighted the accelerating consequences of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse—underscoring the need for immediate, science-backed solutions.

Two major ocean priorities were repeatedly stressed during the event: the need to rapidly bring the high seas treaty into force so that urgently needed protections can be afforded to ecosystems and biodiversity in areas beyond countries’ national waters, and the need to protect the deep sea with the growing threat of deep seabed mining. 

At the close of the event, Thompson and Earle presented the SOS Ocean Manifesto to Macron, calling for bold and regenerative policies at the upcoming UN Ocean Conference, to be held June 9–13 in Nice, France.

“We must protect the ocean as if our lives depend on it, because they do,” said Earle. “Highest priority must be to safeguard the High Seas from the needless, destructive folly of deep sea mining and to halt industrial fishing, a principal source of pollution, human trafficking and massive decline of ocean wildlife.”

Thompson and Earle also brought a call for urgency, ambition and an invitation to include the voices and people of the Pacific. “Pacific peoples’ engagement in these international ocean processes is absolutely essential and must be supported,” they said.

Thompson emphasized the connection between ocean health and human survival. “When you protect the oceans, you are protecting all life on Earth,” he said. “This meeting in Paris has given us the opportunity to identify critical issues to be addressed at UNOC-3 so we can protect the health of our oceans and the future of humanity.”

Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to banning deep seabed mining and advancing the high seas treaty, which requires ratification by 60 countries to take effect. France is currently the only nation to support a full ban on deep sea mining in international waters.

Leaders from across the globe joined the gathering, including Monaco’s Prince Albert II, former US Vice President Al Gore, European Council President António Costa, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and UN Ocean Envoy Peter Thomson. Pacific and Indigenous voices, including Ta’Kaiya Blaney of the Tla A’min Nation, were also represented.

As fellow-members of the ocean advocacy group Ocean Elders, Thompson and Earle have joined forces along with other ocean leaders to use their collective influence to pursue the protection of the ocean’s habitat and wildlife. Since its founding, the Ocean Elders have worked closely with partners to advocate for the creation, continued protection and/or expansion of marine protected areas, the creation and implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, a new treaty for the high seas and the protection of marine wildlife.