Protecting the oceans – EU to allocate more than €3.5 billion for new measures

Protecting the oceans is becoming increasingly important in the face of global warming, unsustainable practices, illegal fishing, pollution and loss of marine habitat. At the Our Ocean conference,held on April 16, 2024. in Greece, the European Union reaffirmed its commitment to international ocean management and conservation, announcing 40 commitments for action for 2024, totaling €3.5 billion.

Our Ocean Conference

The Our Ocean Conference is an international event that was initiated in 2014. The main goal of the participants is to protect the oceans and their sustainability. The conference is organized annually by European Union member states. You can read about the previous meeting in an earlier article: Summary of the Our Ocean Conference – the EU will allocate €816.5 million for ocean protection, as announced.

The conference calls for concerted efforts to promote safe, protected, clean, healthy and sustainably managed oceans. The European Union then announces its commitments to take action on: sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas, oceans and climate change, sustainable blue economy, marine pollution or maritime safety.

Protecting the oceans – actions announced by the EU

The European Union, as announced, will provide significant funds for:

sustainable fisheries:

• 1.9 billion under the Instrument for Reconstruction and Enhanced Resilience to support sustainable fisheries – one of the costliest initiatives. It will be used in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Portugal (between 2020 and 2026) to support investment and reform in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture;
• 23.5 million euros between 2024 and 2025 to support regional organizations for the development of the region. Fishery Management Authorities (RFMOs), regional fishery management authorities. fisheries and relevant international agreements in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas;
• 1.5 million to implement the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

marine protected areas:

• 1.36 million euros to implement the agreement on marine biodiversity in areas outside national jurisdiction (BBNJ);
• 24 million euros to protect marine biodiversity and conserve marine ecosystems in the Blue Benguela Current (South Africa) and Suriname, the Maldives, and France of the South and Antarctica;

oceans and climate change:

• 103 million euros for ocean observation programs (Copernicus, Wekeo, Neccton) and research to develop ocean models for climate forecasts;

sustainable blue economy:

• 130 million under the Reconstruction and Resilience Facility. It will be used in plans to rebuild and increase the resilience of Italy and Portugal through two investments (2020-2026) in a sustainable blue economy;
• 134 million euros to help African countries develop a sustainable blue economy. This corresponds to 59 million euros for West Africa, 10 million euros for Mauritania, 35 million euros for Mozambique, and 30 million euros for Angola;

Combating marine pollution:

• 980 million under the Reconstruction and Resilience Facility. It will be used in Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Finland (for 2020-2026) to support four investments and two reforms to combat marine pollution;

maritime security:

• 45 million to enhance maritime safety and security in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Guinea regions of Africa;

Mediterranean support:

• The EU and Sweden have allocated €7.5 million to support the sustainable development of the blue economy in the Mediterranean. This is in line with the European Green Deal, the EU Mediterranean Program and the Union for the Mediterranean’s Ministerial Declaration on a Sustainable Blue Economy;
• 2 million euros for a project to support the Parties to the Barcelona Convention from the Southern Mediterranean in implementing the Ecosystem Approach for Achieving Good Environmental Status (EcAp MED PLUS) from 2024 to 2027;

research:

• As part of the EU’s mission to restore oceans and water resources, 92.3 million euros have been allocated to rebuild our planet and ensure a sustainable blue economy.

Summary of ocean conservation efforts to date

Since the first Our Ocean conference, more than 2,160 commitments worth some €122 billion have been launched. The current €3.5 billion initiatives are among the costliest since the event was first organized. In order to observe the progress made in implementing the commitments made at the Our Ocean conferences, the EU has developed a monitoring tool, which is available on the following website Our Ocean .