Achieving the global 30×30 target in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) will require more than ambitious conservation commitments. It will depend on strong partnerships between governments, development partners, coastal communities, and regional institutions to deliver effective, inclusive, and sustainable ocean governance. This high-level side event will bring together government leaders, donor agencies, community representatives, and regional partners to explore practical pathways for scaling community-led marine conservation across the WIO region. Discussions will highlight national and regional efforts to advance marine conservation and demonstrate how Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) and community-based governance systems are already delivering important outcomes for biodiversity conservation, fisheries sustainability, climate resilience, and coastal livelihoods.
The session will also feature government commitments to scale marine conservation efforts, including the expansion of marine conservation areas and strengthened support for community participation and locally led stewardship approaches. A major highlight of the event will be the launch of the WIO LMMA Alliance, a new regional platform designed to strengthen collaboration, amplify community voices, support peer learning, and connect local conservation action with regional and global ocean agendas alongside the endorsement of the WIO LMMA Call to Action, a shared regional commitment to inclusive and sustainable marine resource governance in the Western Indian Ocean.
Political momentum and leadership on ratification and implementation, with a focus on African regional efforts on High Seas MPAs.
With the High Seas Treaty’s entry into force in January 2026 and its first Conference of Parties scheduled for January 2027, it is now critical to breathe life into the Treaty- accelerating global efforts to turn it from words on paper into action on the water. Covering half our planet’s surface and ⅔ of the global ocean, the High Seas play a critical role in sustaining ocean and planetary health. Their protection will be critical for achieving the goal of protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30).
Surrounded by High Seas, Africa has significant stakes in this process: nearly 200 million Africans depend on a healthy ocean for food security, and ecological connectivity between national waters and adjacent High Seas directly influences biodiversity, climate resilience, and livelihoods. With a third of the 54 African States having ratified the Agreement, this side event will spotlight efforts to promote broad participation in the Treaty as well as Africa’s pathway in contributing to global participation in the High Seas Treaty. It will also showcase implementation leadership emerging across the continent as well as other parts of the planet.
Structured in two segments, this side event will explain how accelerated ratification and effective implementation of the BBNJ Agreement are essential climate and biodiversity action:
- Segment 1: Political Momentum and Regional Leadership: From Ratification to Implementation: A number of high-level speakers will highlight ratification and implementation efforts and initiatives that they are championing in their regions and countries. Interventions will also focus on the tangible gains for governments, in particular African states, on participating in the Treaty, with regards to ecosystems, economies, and increased resources, capacity, technology and tools to support effective implementation.
- Segment 2: Delivering 30×30 through High Seas ABMTs/MPAs: This Segment will highlight High Seas ABMTs/MPA connectivity and representativeness as essential building blocks for achieving 30×30 and other global targets. The discussion will showcase early high seas ABMTs/MPAs initiatives demonstrating ecological connectivity, including: The African co-led Sub-Antarctic High Seas MPA initiative; The Atlantic Marine Megafauna Corridor; How Key Biodiversity Areas and the Marine Flyways can accelerate ocean action in African waters and the adjacent High Seas
Explore how partnerships accelerate the global adoption of electronic monitoring—the use of onboard video cameras, sensors, and GPS—to support improved compliance, fisheries data collection, transparency and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It will showcase African leadership in implementing electronic monitoring and highlight how partners in the FAO-led Common Oceans Tuna Project are collaborating and coordinating globally to advance electronic monitoring.
Maritime transport is central to global trade and a key pillar of the Blue Economy, particularly in Africa, where over 90 percent of trade moves by sea. Maritime services are critical lifelines for food security, connectivity, and economic development across the continent. Yet investments in cleaner, more efficient maritime solutions remain limited. African countries face particularly compounding barriers — high capital costs, constrained fiscal space, technical capacity gaps, and fragmented regional coordination — that make limited progress in modernizing fleets, ports, and maritime services.
This panel brings together industry voices and other maritime stakeholders to examine critical investment needs and practical ways to unlock investment and drive maritime innovation in Africa and beyond.
By spotlighting the commercial and developmental value of efficiency improvements and digital tools, the session aims to show how lower-cost, targeted investments can immediately strengthen supply chain reliability and service quality in African ports and shipping.
The event is designed to foster a shared understanding of investment gaps and scalable solutions, and to open doors for follow-up engagement — including technical exchanges, analytical work, and early project development — bridging operational and financial actors who rarely share a common platform.
The event marks the official launch of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2026, FAO’s flagship biennial report, which provides the most up-to-date global, regional and national data on fisheries and aquaculture. At a critical time for advancing ocean, climate and biodiversity goals, the report offers a robust evidence base to inform policy reform, management decisions and partnerships for sustainable aquatic food systems.
The event will go beyond presenting findings, aiming to translate evidence into actionable outcomes. Following opening remarks, a presentation will highlight policy-relevant insights, including fish stock sustainability, production trends and future scenarios. A moderated dialogue will follow bringing together diverse stakeholders to share concrete examples of impact on the ground.
The event will conclude with the launch of a USD 20 million commitment to strengthen fisheries capacity through improved data and stock assessment. Overall, the event seeks to mobilize stakeholders, foster partnerships and drive concrete action toward a sustainable ocean economy.
Women in Ocean Food Africa is building a pipeline of investable, women-led businesses across aquaculture, fisheries, and seaweed value chains. As pioneers of Africa’s blue foods, these entrepreneurs are feeding communities, creating jobs, and strengthening climate-resilient food systems yet they remain underserved by capital and support.
This side event brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers to showcase how targeted investment readiness, mentorship, and ecosystem partnerships are enabling African women to scale seafood and aquaculture ventures. Through real case studies, the session will highlight practical pathways to unlock capital, strengthen value chains, and support women-led businesses driving sustainable ocean food systems across the continent.
Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse and economically vital ecosystems on Earth, underpinning food security, livelihoods, coastal protection, and socio-economic resilience for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in developing coastal and island nations. Yet they face existential threats from climate change, pollution, overexploitation, and habitat loss, increasingly undermining local economies, exacerbating poverty, and heightening vulnerability to climate shocks. This high-level side event brings together Government champions, financial experts, and conservation leaders from across the globe to accelerate the translation of political commitments into concrete, fundable action for climate-resilient coral reefs, while strengthening inclusive growth, poverty alleviation, and long-term socio-economic resilience for coastal communities across the Global South.
Led by the Governments of Kenya, Panama, Vanuatu, and Zanzibar, organized by the the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and supported by Blue Alliance, UNEP, The Nature Conservancy, WIOMSA, WWF Coral Reef Rescue Initiative, and global partners, the event will mobilize new signatories and announcements of national-level actions for the High-Level Political Commitment for Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs with a particular focus on mobilizing leadership across the Western Indian Ocean where reef health and socio-economic stability are deeply intertwined. To move from political commitment to implementation, the event will showcase real-world financing models that are already delivering results and can be replicated and scaled. A featured panel will highlight reef-positive blended finance vehicles, national action plans, and public-private partnerships illustrating how investment in coral reef resilience can drive sustainable fisheries, nature-based tourism, local enterprise development, and climate-resilient coastal economies. With a shared goal of securing actions for climate-resilient coral reefs, this event marks a critical step in building the coalition, championship, the financial architecture, and delivery partnerships needed to protect coral reefs as engines of socio-economic resilience and sustainable development for people and planet.
Showcasing how African-led regional cooperation is delivering practical solutions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Bringing together leaders from government, regional organisations and international partners, the event highlights how strengthened transparency, information sharing and joint enforcement are improving the management and protection of Africa’s fisheries resources.
Focusing on the work of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) MCS Coordination Centre and the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) Regional MCS Centre, the session will demonstrate how coordinated regional action is preventing illegal operators from exploiting African waters. Through real case examples and panel discussions, speakers will illustrate how cooperation across countries is evolving from ad hoc coordination to more systematic, institutionalised approaches.
Looking ahead, the event will promote a shared vision of “African Vigilance” a continent-wide approach to fisheries transparency and collaboration. With countries, regional bodies and partners committing to strengthening regional systems, enhancing vessel monitoring and information exchange, and building a more unified and effective African response to IUU fishing.
Join a powerful conversation with Indigenous and community ocean leaders from around the globe who are delivering some of the most effective, scalable, and cost-efficient solutions to today’s ocean-climate challenges. Grounded in time-tested governance systems built for continuity, legitimacy, and real results, and based on reciprocity, these approaches are already driving measurable impact around the world.
Through investment-ready case studies presented by our panelists, this session reveals what it truly takes to achieve lasting ocean-climate outcomes and why investing in Indigenous and community-led marine stewardship is one of the smartest bets we can make.
Participants will leave with clear, actionable pathways to align public, philanthropic, and private capital behind proven solutions unlocking faster, more durable progress toward ocean protection, climate resilience, and thriving coastal livelihoods.
