UNCTAD makes waves at UNOC3 with strong leadership and bold commitments for a sustainable ocean economy
UNCTAD made a significant impact at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held in Nice 8–13 June 2025, under the theme “Scaling Up Ocean Action Based on Science and Innovation for the Implementation of Goal 14”.
Through 15 recommendations from its preparatory 5th Ocean Forum, vibrant pavilion, high-level engagement, state-of-the-art data analysis, and bold initiatives, UNCTAD reaffirmed its commitment to advancing a sustainable ocean economy and trade that benefits people and planet alike.
A vibrant hub at “The Ocean That Feeds Us” pavilion
At the heart of the conference’s Green Zone, UNCTAD’s “The Ocean That Feeds Us” pavilion was located inside La Baleine, which welcomed over 130,000 visitors throughout the week.
UNCTAD, FAO, Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, Angola and their partners hosted thanks to the support of France, Portugal and the United Kingdom, 57 events, drawing between 30 to 100 participants per session. It quickly became a vibrant hub for exchanges, presentations of voluntary commitments, initiatives and collaboration among students and families, civil society representatives, researchers, parliamentarians, international organizations, and member States.
Highlights included:
- Presentation of the 15 actionable recommendations from UNCTAD’s 5th UN Ocean Forum with a strong emphasis on sustainable ocean trade, south-south cooperation, innovation and blue finance.
- Launch of UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade Update on sustainable ocean economies, advocating for a Blue Deal that puts sustainability at the core of ocean trade.
- Presentation of our voluntary commitment on “Navigating the sustainable use of coastal ecosystems and decarbonization of maritime activities through data innovation, data science, and evidence-based policy formulation” DESA.
- Daily movies showing the importance of sustainable management of our oceans, raising awareness about plastic pollution, showing the benefits of a decarbonized sector, and on the potential Ocean Economy and Trade Strategies and Blue BioTrade.
- UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan participated in the inauguration of La Baleine on World Ocean Day (8 June) with more than 50 Heads of State.
Driving the global sustainable ocean agenda
UNCTAD played an active role across the UNOC3 Blue Zone, notably with SG Grynspan’s intervention during the Ocean Action Panel 6 on Advancing Sustainable Ocean Economies, including maritime transport and coastal resilience (11 June), where she highlighted the need for innovative financing, stronger trade frameworks, and support for sustainable maritime industries. UNCTAD also co-organised 5 official UNOC3 side-events, including integrated solutions for sustainable ocean economies.
As a co-initiator and founding member, UNCTAD proudly helped create the UN Global Seaweed Initiative (UNGSI) on 13 June, alongside Madagascar, Indonesia, France, UN entities including FAO, UNIDO, UN Global Compact, and IOC-UNESCO, as well as civil society actors such as the Global Seaweed Coalition. This collaborative platform aims to support the sustainable development of the seaweed sector through:
- Development of global regulations standards and traceability
- Promote market development, inclusive value chains
- Drive and support scientific research, innovation, knowledge sharing
- Mobilization of blue finance and capacity building
Advocacy and awareness-raising efforts
The Initiative is expected to be formally launched at the UN General Assembly in September 2025.
UNCTAD also demonstrated leadership in blue finance by joining the One Ocean Finance and co-authoring a working paper “Ocean finance for the sustainable ocean economy” coordinated by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy launched at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco on the 7–8 June 2025 and designed to facilitate discussions on the complex landscape of ocean finance.
Looking ahead: What’s next for UNCTAD
Building on the momentum from the 5th UN Ocean Forum, the BEFF, and UNOC3, UNCTAD will continue to support member States and stakeholders through evidence-based policy recommendations and targeted support.
- The updated 2025 ocean trade database, including new indicators (e.g., revealed comparative advantage, market/product concentration), will underpin policy advice.
- Ocean governance and sustainable trade will feature prominently at the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board in October–November 2025, with a view toward further positioning these issues in the lead-up to UNCTAD 16.
- UNCTAD will also provide a critical analysis on marine nature for debt swaps.
UNCTAD is also implementing several concrete projects to accelerate ocean action:
- Ocean Economy and Trade Strategies (OETS), tested in Costa Rica, Belize and Barbados, to support the development of sustainable blue economies.
- Blue BioTrade, piloted in the OECS in collaboration with CITES, promoting sustainable trade in high-value, biodiversity-based marine products.
UNCTAD: A steady hand for ocean action
UNCTAD’s solid and visible presence at UNOC3 demonstrates its unwavering commitment to sustainable ocean economies, trade, finance, inclusive blue value chains, and climate-resilient trade. The organization stands ready to support countries as they navigate the currents of sustainability, trade and development—ensuring that “The Ocean That Feeds Us” remains a source of prosperity and well-being for generations to come.
This event will interrogate the complex geopolitical, trade, financial and capacity challenges faced by countries undertaking the transition to a sustainable ocean economy towards the achievement of SDG 14.
Panelists will explore the importance of integrated solutions that include the governance bedrock needed to support the development of sustainable ocean economies, with a focus on real-world examples of the challenges faced in various geographies.
The United Nations 5th Ocean Forum, which took place in March 2025 and was chaired by Costa Rica and France, offers a valuable set of recommendations that emphasize the critical need to foster international cooperation, enhance ocean economic governance, build resilient and sustainable ocean economies, and promote best practice in sustainable trade, investment, finance, maritime transport, and logistics.
The event will illuminate the challenges countries face in transitioning to a sustainable ocean economy and provide practical responses grounded in action-oriented partnerships for sustainable development.
The event will highlight existing integrated solutions and demonstrate how the global community can support governments, regions, and communities in achieving a sustainable ocean economy.
Speakers:
Co-chairs:
- Mr. David Vivas Eugui, Chief of Section a.i. Ocean and Circular Economy Unit. Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UNCTAD
- Ms. Francine Pickup, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP
Panelists:
- Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- H.E. Mr. Arnoldo André Tinoco, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica
- H.E. Mr. Moses Vilakati, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment Department, AU
- H.E. Ms. Maisa Rojas, Minister of Environment, Chile
- Mr. Manuel Barange, Assistant Director General, FAO
- Mr. Vladimir Jares, Director, DOALOS
- Ms. Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP
- Ms. Yoko Watanabe, Director of Environment, Asian Development Bank
Video presentation by UNCTAD and UNDP
Rebeca Grynspan, of Costa Rica, became UNCTAD's eighth Secretary-General on 13 September 2021 and is the first woman to lead the organization.
Prior to her UNCTAD appointment, she was the Ibero-American secretary-general from 2014 to 2021, also the first woman to head the organization. During her mandate, she has coordinated the 22-member Iberoamerican Conference and led four key summits of Heads of State and Government.
In 2010 she was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and prior to that was UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Grynspan served as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She was also Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2021 she was named Special International Advisor to the newly created Economic and Social Council of Argentina and invited to join as member of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
In addition to her experience as a lecturer and advisor to several international organizations, she has been actively involved in key United Nations initiatives, such as the Millennium Project's Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and the High-level Panel on Financing for Development.
In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America. And she was recognized as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine.
Ms Grynspan holds a degree in Economics by the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Economics by the University of Sussex. She has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca, the University of Extremadura and the European University of Madrid in recognition of her outstanding professional achievements.
David Vivas Eugui is Chief of Ocean and Circular Economy Unit, a.i., Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, at UNCTAD.
Previously, he was a Senior Economic Affairs Officer in UNCTAD’s Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch, Deputy Programmes Director at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Attaché for Legal Affairs at the Mission of Venezuela to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Staff Attorney at the Venezuelan Institute of Foreign Trade. David is an international expert with more than 20 years of experience on legal and economic issues.
He has worked as an advisor and consultant for various institutions, international and national organizations and has lectured on intellectual property, trade, oceans economy and environmental law at the University of Strasbourg (CEIPI), Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), Maastricht University (the Netherlands), WIPO Distant Learning Academy, and University of Business and International Studies (Switzerland).
He holds a JD from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, an LLM from Georgetown University and a Master in Transnational Business from the Universidad Externado de Colombia.
Francine Pickup is UNDP’s Deputy Director in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) beginning 1st June 2022.
Prior to her appointment, Francine was Resident Representative in Serbia, Resident Representative a.i. / Country Director in India and Deputy Country Director in Indonesia. Before that, she worked as the Strategic Planning Advisor in RBAP and led the UN’s Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit under the Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary General in Iraq.
Francine joined the UN in 2002, working with OCHA in Lebanon, Palestine and New York, as well as the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) and FAO in Palestine, and ILO in Central Asia. Aside from the UN, she has worked with several development organisations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the World Bank.
Francine received her undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University, her Masters in Development Studies and PhD on local level responses to new market forces in Russia, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
She has publications on topics including innovative and Islamic financing, aid effectiveness, humanitarian aid policy, economies in transition, livelihoods, the informal economy and gender and development. She is married with three children and loves tennis, running and the outdoors.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica. Doctor of Law, University of Hamburg, Germany.
Former President of the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce (2010-2013) and International Arbitrator for the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Chile (2007).
He was also Professor of International Law at the University of Costa Rica (1984-1994). His practice areas include international law, investment, commercial and contracts law, arbitration and ADR, tax and real estate. He is fluent in Spanish, English and German.
Professor Manuel Barange is Assistant Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Director of its Fisheries and Aquaculture Division. He is an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, UK, and Visiting Professor at the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, CAFS, China.
Barange was Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Science at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) and Chair of the scientific committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Professor Barange is a global fisheries and aquaculture expert, with particular focus on climate and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems and on the role of aquatic foods in ending hunger and poverty.
He has over 130 academic publications and is the lead Editor of the FAO flagship biennial publication “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture”. He has contributed to several IPCC reports and was Review Editor of the IPCC special report on Oceans and the Cryosphere (SROCC). In 2010 he was awarded the UNESCO-IOC Roger Revelle Medal for his contribution to ocean science.
Mr. Vladimir Jares is the Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. He has been a staff member of the United Nations Secretariat since December 1992.
During his more than three-decade long career at the Division, he had a large variety of responsibilities, initially dealing with fisheries issues in the context of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. Thereafter, he was a member of the team which deals with issues related to maritime spaces. He served for many years as the Secretary of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
He oversaw the development of the website of the Division and was the editor of the Law of the Sea Bulletin. He was involved, in various capacities, in supporting the work of intergovernmental processes serviced by the Division, most recently as the Secretary of the Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
He continues to be involved in capacity-building activities of the Division and has delivered numerous lectures on topics related to ocean affairs and the law of the sea.
Prior to his career of an international civil servant, he was in diplomatic services of Czechoslovakia.
Ms. Susan Gardner has over two decades of experience in science and environmental policy working for both the Mexican and United States governments. She was a senior official in the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration focused on fisheries science and ocean conservation. Prior to this position, she was a senior official at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and worked for the Mexican Federal Government as an environmental scientist at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste. She has a Doctoral Degree in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Washington, a Master of Science Degree in Toxicology from North Carolina State University, and a bachelor's degree in Marine Science from Long Island University. Her research has generated over 30 publications including a book and book chapters on topics related to ecology, toxicology, fisheries management and species conservation.
