Under the theme of “An Ocean of Potential”, the 9th Our Ocean Conference, hosted on 15-17 April in Athens, received 3,800 delegates representing 119 countries.  The outcome was 469 new commitments totaling over $11.3 billion to enhance marine protection, combat pollution, and foster sustainable management of valuable marine resources, as outlined Dr. Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, the Greek Prime Minister's special Envoy for the oceans and Our Ocean Conference 2024 coordinator.

The European Union emerged as a major contributor, pledging €3.5 billion for 40 ocean governance actions for 2024, representing EU's largest financial commitment to ocean health to date, while Grece, as a global leader in maritime industry, presented an ambitious set of commitments, including policy and regulations, technological improvements and investments to reduce impact on the ocean. The Youth Ocean Leader emphasized the youth's vibrant engagement and their commitment to environmental education and marine conservation. The conference also celebrated the expansion of marine and protected areas, now covering 47% of global waters—a testament to the collective effort and dedication of the international community towards ocean preservation.

The Our Ocean Conference began in 2014 as an initiative to draw international attention to the serious threats facing the world’s ocean and to take concrete action around the globe to support marine conservation and sustainable development. In each conference, governments and non-state actors make concrete commitments to protect ocean health and security. Adding to the commitments of the previous conferences, a total of almost $140 billion has been committed to support marine conservation and sustainable development. In the closing session, Professor Kristen Grorud-Colvert from the University of Oregon highlighted that 72% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Area-Based Management (ABM) commitments have been completed, and 24% are in progress, suggesting that the upcoming conferences aim for even greater targets.

IW:LEARN at Our Ocean Conference

IW:LEARN had a notable presence in the 9^th Our Ocean Conference. Konstantina Toli, IW:LEARN Coordinator, contributed to several side events, highlighting the value and the contribution of the knowledge and tools generated from the GEF IW marine community to ocean literacy, the role of science and partnerships, fostered by IOC/UNESCO, to improve understanding the impact of land based sources of pollution in marine hypoxia, as addressed by the new GEF Integrated Program on Clean and Healthy Oceans. Furthermore, in the panel discussion on Financing Coastal Nature Based Solutions, she presented the experience from the GEF IW portfolio, working in the land-sea continuum, spanning from reducing land-based sources of pollution, to mangrove conservation and coral reef protection, as tangible examples of coastal NBS with multiple environmental and socio-economic co-benefits.