30x30

The Great Blue Wall (GBW) is a Western Indian Ocean (WIO)-born, African-driven roadmap to achieve a nature-positive world by 2030, aiming at unlocking unprecedented nature-based recovery efforts through dramatically accelerating and upscaling ocean conservation action while enhancing socio-ecological resilience and the development of a regenerative blue economy. This session will focus on the implementation of best-practice coastal and marine conservation in the WIO, and the integration of Nature-based Solutions and the Regenerative Blue Economy into Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). The session is structured around two main panels, each addressing critical aspects of the Great Blue Wall initiative.

This event will showcase the findings of a new report commissioned by the Bloomberg Ocean Fund and developed in partnership with Campaign for Nature, the Marine Conservation Institute, and SkyTruth. Off track or on course? Assessing progress toward achieving the 30x30 target in the ocean, assesses progress toward the global target of protecting and conserving 30% of the ocean by 2030.

A SIDS COP 16 Declaration of Action featuring a series of strong political messages to the international community from key Caribbean political leaders and champions that will boldly highlight the urgency of actioning political will to unlock new and innovative opportunities and financing to achieve progress toward GBF targets within the Caribbean region considering our vulnerabilities to the triple planetary crisis that includes biodiversity loss.

Preserving the ecological integrity and connectivity of key marine ecosystems is essential to ensuring the long-term benefits the ocean provides to communities and countries. At the same time, conservation efforts need to be equitably governed and integrated into wider seascapes while ensuring the sustainable use of resources is fully consistent with expected conservation outcomes and recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. To this end, it is crucial to effectively conserve areas of particular importance for biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services through networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).