9 June 2025, Nice France - As the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) gets underway in Nice France, Samoa’s Prime Minister, Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, has called for a quantum leap in public and private finance investment to meet the scale of Ocean challenges threatening livelihoods and communities in the Pacific and around the world.
Prime Minister Fiame, who delivered a statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) on Monday, was amongst Pacific Leaders who amplified national and regional priorities, during the first Ocean Action Panel (OAP) on Conserving, sustainably managing, and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems including deep sea ecosystems.
“For Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Ocean is our heritage, our home, and our future,” Prime Minister Fiame said.
She reminded that SIDS are stewards of more than 30% of the Ocean under national jurisdiction, including vast coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows. More than 97% of SIDS Exclusive Economic Zones are also considered deep Ocean, she added.
“Yet we face unique vulnerabilities: fragile ecosystems, limited land resources, geographic isolation, and heightened exposure to exogenous shocks and climate disasters,” she said. “The special circumstances of SIDS cannot be overstated.”
The special circumstances of SIDS in relation to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution, refers to their small size and small economies which makes them inherently susceptible to external economic and financial shocks. Their geographical location also means that the triple planetary crisis threatens their very survival.
According to Samoa’s Prime Minister, the science is unequivocal that marine ecosystems face unprecedented degradation.
“Coral reefs supporting 25% of all marine life could be lost entirely if global average temperature remain beyond 1.5°C,” she said.
“Deep-sea ecosystems now face mounting threats from climate change, pollution, and resource extraction. The next five years represent our last window of opportunity to implement transformative action if we are to preserve marine biodiversity for future generations.”
Despite the challenges, Prime Minister Fiame said SIDS continue to demonstrate remarkable leadership. She used the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) to illustrate her point.
“Of 32 countries that have ratified the BBNJ Agreement, 14 are SIDS, and today we should be expecting more,” she said. “Across the Caribbean and Pacific, we've mobilised collective action to protect critical marine habitats.”
At UNOC3, Prime Minister Fiame said SIDS demand that developed countries meet existing commitments and provide new, additional, adequate, and predictable finance with simplified access for SIDS and LDCs.
She called on the international community to scale up finance for marine conservation, accelerate capacity building and technology transfer and to swiftly ratify and implement the BBNJ Agreement with a robust finance mechanism to ensure its effective implementation.
“As Small Island Developing States, we've demonstrated what's possible when political will aligns with community stewardship. But we cannot do it alone,” said Samoa’s Prime Minister.
“The global Ocean's health requires global cooperation, adequate financing, and technology transfer. AOSIS stands ready to continue leading by example and working with all partners to ensure marine ecosystems are conserved and restored for present and future generations.”
The third UN Ocean Conference is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica and held in Nice, France, from 9 – 13 June 2025. The overarching theme of the Conference is “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.
The Pacific Islands are represented by a strong contingent, which includes Leaders from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tuvalu.
Also present and engaged are Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is providing support to Pacific delegations as part of the One CROP support.
SPREP will provide more Pacific news from the UNOC2025. For further information on the UN Ocean Conference 2025, please visit: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025