Under the auspices of the Partnership for Regional Ocean Governance (PROG-Ocean) and the Marine Regions Forum, TMG co-convened several dialogue sessions at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC 2022) in Lisbon. Building on ongoing research programmes and partnerships, we showcased solutions and new ideas on how to boost international ocean governance to achieve SDG 14, and related goals, including SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

Fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and regional cooperation for SDG 14 brought together a broad array of researchers and policy leaders to explore entry points for accelerating SDG 14 implementation. This side event highlighted successful examples of regional cooperation, such as collaborative MPAs, for protecting marine biodiversity, fighting pollution, and mitigating climate change thus contributing to the 30x30 target under the UN Convention on Biodiversity. Conclusions from the side event will inform discussions on regional ocean action at the UN Ocean Conference.

Friends of the Marine Regions Forum - UNOC 2022 - Lunch Exchangewas co-convened by the heads of the three organizing institutes, TMG, IDDRI and IASS. The aim was to assess progress since the launch of the Marine Regions Forum at the first UN Ocean and Our Ocean Conferences in 2017. The discussions showcased collective achievements for ocean governance and healthy marine regions, and previewed preparations for the second Marine Region Forum conference, to take place in the Western Indian Ocean in 2023. Key partners who made high-level statements at the event included: Anders Grönvall, State Secretary of Climate and Environment, Sweden; Chalina Vitcheva, Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries , European Commission; and Bettina Hoffmann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany.

TMG Senior Research Fellow, Sebastian Unger, was one of the speakers at the iAtlantic Stakeholder Dialogue. iAtlantic is an ambitious EU-funded study that spans the full scale of the Atlantic basin from the tip of Argentina in the south to Iceland in the north, and from the east coasts of Canada and Brazil to the western margins of Europe and Africa. The project adopts an ocean-wide approach to understand factors that control the distribution, stability and vulnerability of marine ecosystems. By identifying tipping points for deep and open-ocean ecosystems we aim to provide new insights into the factors that influence and support the resilience of these ecosystems.

Read "Sustainable Blue Recovery: Fostering Resilience for Marine Regions", a new policy paper released during the conference.