World Ocean Council (WOC) - Experts & Thought Leaders

The World Ocean Council (WOC) is pleased to announce the expansion of its SMART Ocean-SMART Industries (SO-SI) Programme through the appointment of a Programme Manager, with support provided by Singapore-based Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd. Mr. William (Bill) Staby, as Programme Manager at the World Ocean Council (WOC), will lead the SO-SI Programme to organise industry/science partnerships and promote data collection by ships, platforms and other offshore infrastructure, which can be used to host or deploy instruments. Companies can also participate by sharing data they have previously collected. World Ocean Council’s (WOC) SO-SI Programme Companies with vessels and offshore facilities are invited to contact the World Ocean Council (WOC) Companies with vessels and offshore facilities are invited to contact the World Ocean Council (WOC), to participate in the SO-SI Programme, which enables companies to deliver on SDG 14 and the UN Decade of Ocean Science. Sam Swire, the Chairman of Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd., said: “We at Swire Shipping are proud to be one of the inaugural sponsors of the World Ocean Council’s SO-SI Programme and look forward to it bringing real benefits to stakeholders at the earliest opportunity.” Stepping up efforts for data collection He adds, “Understanding the relationship between the atmosphere and our oceans is crucial to mitigating the effects of global warming. We must step up our efforts for data collection, especially as this can be achieved using ‘ships, rigs and undersea cables of opportunity’ often at minimal additional expense.” Sam Swire continues, “The first ‘International Maritime Conference for Devising a Uniform System of Met-Ocean Observations at Sea’ was successfully convened in Brussels 170 years ago. Since then, those of us who have been able to report data from the 71% of our planet that is water have done so both for the good of the environment and our industry.” Broadening the understanding of the oceans Paul Holthus, the World Ocean Council’s (WOC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), emphasized that, “The most cost-effective way to significantly increase our understanding of the ocean (and the climate above the ocean) is to harness the use of the 60,000 merchant vessels, 3-4 million fishing boats, thousands of offshore aquaculture and energy installations and 1.2 million kilometres of submarine cables.” Unlocking this potential is the goal of the WOC SO-SI Programme Unlocking this potential is the goal of the WOC SO-SI Programme, which works to match companies with scientific institutions and ocean, weather and climate observation programmes, and facilitate the installation or deployment of instruments and the transfer of data to the appropriate public agencies. WOC partners with key ocean and climate institutions As the World Ocean Council (WOC) is the only ocean business and investment organisation with a global programme working to engage industries in data collection, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), Seabed 2030 and other key ocean and climate institutions have developed partnerships with the World Ocean Council (WOC). Advancing ocean industry data collection also creates needs for innovation in developing instruments, data transfer, analytics, etc., as well as important investment opportunities.

In close coordination with the UfM EU (DG MARE) and Jordan Co-Presidency, on March 28, 2023, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the World Ocean Council (WOC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at UfM Headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, in the framework of the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy and Roadmap for its implementation, and of the WestMED Initiative, supported by the UfM and by the European Commission. Based on the experience with sea basin and macro-regional strategies, WestMED was further adopted by the European Commission and endorsed by the EU Council in 2017. UfM and WOC sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) The MoU details key avenues of collaboration to promote cooperation, strong engagement, stewardship The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) details key avenues of collaboration to promote cooperation, strong engagement, stewardship, and corporate responsibility from the business and investment communities in maritime and marine sectors, and activities at the Mediterranean level. Strategic cooperation will focus on – among other key areas – blue business development and entrepreneurship; blue skills, careers, jobs and employability in the sectors activities of the Med SBE; sustainable investments in the blue economy; and the blue finance process in the Mediterranean. Sustainable blue economy A driving force in the Mediterranean, the sustainable blue economy holds great potential to boost the sustainable development of traditional and emerging economic maritime sectors; support livelihoods by creating new and quality ‘blue’ jobs across the region; tackle climate change; and ensure the health of marine and coastal ecosystems while protecting the crucial environmental services they provide. Key priority sectors of the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on SBE include: Governance and the future of sea basin strategies in the Mediterranean region Marine research and innovation, skills, careers and employment Sustainable food from the sea: fisheries and aquaculture Sustainable, climate-neutral and zero-pollution maritime transport and ports Interactions between marine litter and the blue economy Coastal and maritime tourism Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management Marine renewable energies Maritime safety and security of blue economy activities Sustainable investments in the blue economy UfM Blue Finance Conference UfM Conference on investing in the Sustainable Blue Economy in the Mediterranean took place in Barcelona UfM Blue Finance Conference - the UfM Conference on investing in the Sustainable Blue Economy in the Mediterranean took place in Barcelona, Spain, in June 2022, at the World Trade Centre, which currently hosts the WOC Secretariat. The goal of the conference was to encourage investments in, and funding of, Sustainable Blue Economy projects and initiatives across the region, especially in the Southern Mediterranean. Exchange of information on funding, viability of projects Financial institutions, multilateral and national banks, private investors, and UfM country and maritime industry representatives came together to exchange information on funding, the viability of projects/initiatives, and the enabling conditions that may help to attract investments. The conference included sessions on access to finance, opportunities and modalities for investments in the Med blue economy sectors, best practices, and successful initiatives currently in place. Matchmaking meetings between countries/project promoters and Banks/Financial institutions also took place throughout the day. The second WestMED High-Level Ministerial Conference will take place in Malta, on Friday 23 June, 2023.

The world’s governments have finalised an historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters — the treaty on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) — after nearly 10 years of negotiations. New U.N. High Seas Treaty The new U.N. High Seas Treaty, as it is now known, covers the two-thirds of the ocean that lies outside national boundaries — nearly 50% of the planet’s surface. The treaty provides a legal framework for establishing management areas and marine protected areas (MPAs), requiring environmental impact assessments (EIAs), building capacity and transferring marine technology, and sharing the benefits of the genetic resources of the high seas. Virtual roundtable to discuss the U.N. High Seas Treaty WOC is organising a roundtable discussion on the U.N. High Seas Treaty on 22 March, 2023 The World Ocean Council (WOC) is organising a roundtable discussion on the U.N. High Seas Treaty on 22 March, 2023. The virtual meeting will brief the ocean business, investment and legal communities on the treaty’s implications for ocean economic activity, including the important opportunities for ocean industries to proactively engage in ensuring a healthy, productive, well-managed global ocean. WOC Roundtables participation by invitation only WOC Roundtables are by invitation only, designed to bring together relevant stakeholders for high-impact discussions. For those who would like to attend the WOC High Seas Treaty Roundtable, please submit the invitation request. The World Ocean Council (WOC) has been participating in the Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) process for well over a decade; working to ensure the global ocean business community was informed and engaged. WOC involved in the informal and formal BBNJ process The WOC has been the only business organisation consistently involved in the informal and formal BBNJ process, and following that up with inter-sessional outreach to the global ocean business community, for example via webinars, briefing sessions at the WOC Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS) and analysis of the treaty text for the private sector.