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United Nations Environment Programme

Ocean Governance

In Ocean, seas and coasts

Ocean governance including science policy, partnerships, gender, and youth 

The Regional Seas Programme drives inclusive and coherent ocean governance by combining science, policy, and partnerships with a focus on gender and youth, fostering regional cooperation and implementing multilateral agreements to safeguard marine biodiversity and ecosystems, combat pollution, address climate change and promote sustainable development

Introduction 

Ocean governance plays a vital role in the sustainable management and conservation of the world’s oceans, safeguarding them for future generations. It involves the regulation and administration of the ocean's uses, aiming to maintain biodiversity, mitigate climate change impacts, and promote sustainable livelihoods. UNEP’s Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) are instrumental in driving ocean governance by fostering regional cooperation, informed by science-policy dialogues and inclusive partnerships, with a strong focus on gender and youth engagement. 

Why It Matters

The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet, supporting critical ecosystem services, regulating the climate, and providing livelihoods to billions of people. However, it faces unprecedented threats from pollution including plastic pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change. Strong governance is necessary to ensure the health and resilience of marine ecosystems, which, in turn, safeguard food security, economic opportunities, and the well-being of coastal communities. Empowering science, policy, partnerships, and inclusive governance, particularly involving women and youth, is critical to addressing these complex challenges effectively. 

What We Do

The Regional Seas Programme, provides a framework for regional ocean governance that supports member states in managing their marine and coastal environments.  

The Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) have been actively shaping innovative ocean governance around the planet, and have progressively erected comprehensive institutional, legal and implementing frameworks for sustainable management and the protection of ecosystems. They have supported their member states and contracting parties to address marine and coastal issues through a range of measures and approaches. The RSCAPs and/or their contracting parties have developed various strategic documents that set clear objectives, goals and targets for their regions. The documents range from: 

  1. Regional Seas Conventions, Protocols and Action Plans: Most regional seas (in the 1970’s to 1990’s) adopted a Convention for the protection of the marine and coastal environment, or an Action Plan, or both. In most cases, such Action Plans are underpinned with strong legal frameworks in the form of regional Conventions and associated Protocols addressing specific problems or specific objectives and goals as defined for their member states and parties to collectively achieve.  Some Regional Seas have adopted thematic protocols according to their regional priorities (Mediterranean, Caribbean, Eastern Africa, Caspian, ROPME, South-East Pacific). 
  1. Regional Seas Strategies and Work programmes:  In order to elaborate on the implementation of the Regional Seas Conventions and/or Action Plans, each region has developed strategies and/or work-programmes. Each presents the main objectives, actions, and in several cases targets and indicators for the period noted. 
  1. Strategic Action Programmes (SAPs): Those regional seas with countries that are eligible for Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding, have received funding to develop Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis reports (TDAs) to first identify the main causes of environmental degradation and transboundary issues, followed by Strategic Action Programmes (SAPs) to elaborate the objectives, targets and actions required to address this causes. 
  1. Other strategies and/or actions: This is in particular thematic strategies on land-based sources of pollution, marine and coastal biodiversity conservation, Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plans (ICZM), pollution from shipping and oil, gas exploration/exploitation marine litter, sustainable development, adaptation to climate change, coastal zone management, marine protected areas, invasive species and others 

  Selected examples to exemplify the Regional Seas work with regards to ocean governance 

  • Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention): Protects marine and coastal environments against pollution and fosters sustainable development through the Mediterranean Action Plan, supported by protocols on land-based pollution and specially protected areas. 
  • Western Indian Ocean (Nairobi Convention): The Action Plan for the Western Indian Ocean addresses marine pollution, coastal management, and biodiversity, with a particular focus on ecosystem monitoring frameworks and community resilience. 
  • Wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention): Focuses on protecting the region’s marine and coastal resources through protocols on oil spills, land-based pollution, and the conservation of wildlife and habitats. 
  • East Asian Seas (COBSEA Secretariat): Aims to reduce marine pollution, conserve marine and coastal biodiversity, and enhance ocean-based climate action through the COBSEA Strategic Directions 2023-2027, Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) and the Marine and Coastal Ecosystems (MCE) Framework. 

Regional Seas Programme governance structure

Science, Policy, and Partnerships

UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme promotes science-based decision-making by supporting environmental assessments and fostering science-policy dialogues. Partnerships are critical to advancing research, sharing data, and implementing projects across regions. Regional Action Plans and Strategic Directions provide the blueprint for collaborative action, aligning with global multilateral environmental agreements such as UNCLOS, CBD, and UNFCCC.  

Assessment and Monitoring in some selected RSCAPs 

  • HELCOM: There are 12 agreed HELCOM monitoring programmes covering sources and inputs of human pressures and various variables reflecting the state of the environment. HELCOM monitoring programmes are compiled in the HELCOM Monitoring Manual. Current monitoring and assessment activities are guided by the HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Strategy 
  • PERSGA: Has established a Regional Monitoring Program aims at: Supporting member states with human and technical capacities as well as equipment to implement monitoring activities and reduce the gap between States in implementing their national monitoring programs.  

Gender and Youth

The RSCAPs integrate gender equality and youth empowerment into their ocean governance frameworks. By supporting capacity-building initiatives and inclusive stakeholder engagement, the Regional Seas Programmes ensure that women and youth contribute to and benefit from sustainable ocean management. Gender-responsive policies are crucial for resilience, particularly in climate-vulnerable coastal communities, while youth involvement drives innovation and long-term stewardship of marine ecosystems.  

  • Science and Policy in RSCAPs

    Nairobi Convention: The Western Indian Ocean Science to Policy Platform (SPP) is “a multi-stakeholder platform comprising representatives of formal and informal knowledge-generating institutions, practitioners, policymakers, communities and the private sector within the WIO region. It serves as an intermediary body to bridge the gaps between science and policy. The SPP is intended to support the efforts of the Contracting Parties of the Nairobi Convention to integrate relevant scientific evidence and findings into their efforts to protect, manage and develop their coastal and marine environment sustainably. 

    Barcelona Convention: The Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) is the most inclusive forum dedicated to sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. Established in 1995, by virtue of Article 4 of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention), the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development is an advisory body to the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention assisting in their efforts to integrate environmental issues in their socioeconomic programmes and to promote sustainable development policies in the Mediterranean region.  

    HELCOM: The Science Agenda aims to encouraging scientists to apply for research projects linked to the highlighted knowledge needs; invite external funding bodies to consider HELCOM knowledge and science needs in their planning of calls for application;  and increase interaction between policy and science 

    Caribbean Convention: The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) establishes a Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) to aid in the implementation of the Protocol.  The functions of the STAC are described in Article 20 of the SPAW Protocol as follows: to provide advice to the Contracting Parties on:  The listing of protected areas;  The listing of protected species; Reports on the management and protection of protected areas and species and their habitats; Proposals for technical assistance for training, research, education and management (including species recovery plans); Any other matters relating to the implementation of the Protocol, including those matters referred to it by the meetings of the Parties. 

    COBSEA: The Global Digital Platform of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) and Regional Node platforms aim inter alia to connect scientists and policy makers, to make data and scientific research accessible, and to foster networking and partnerships at national, regional, and global levels. 

    OSPAR: The OSPAR Science Agenda identifies gaps in knowledge that hamper progress towards achieving the aims of the OSPAR Strategies; sets out a procedure to ensure that science needs are well defined and based on common understanding of knowledge needs 

    Tehran Convention: The Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology and Pollution Monitoring of the Caspian Sea(CASPCOM) seeks to enhance coordination and coherence of observations and practices in the fields of hydrometeorology and pollution monitoring of the Caspian Sea. 

  • Indicators in RSCAPs

    Indicators 

    The Regional Seas Programme is committed to addressing the accelerating environmental degradation of the world’s shared marine and coastal areas including management of the natural resources through a “shared seas” approach. Many sets of indicators exist that have been developed to address specific environmental issues. In 2014, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organised the Technical Workshop on Selecting Indicators for the State of Regional Seas from 30 June to 2 July 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. In this workshop, the participants recommended the establishment a regional seas indicator working group to spread head collection of regionally harmonized data, including consideration of indicators to track and report on progress towards improved resource efficiency, sustainable consumption and production and food security, amongst others. The working group comprises representatives of the Secretariats of RSCAPs, partner organizations including UNESCO-IOC, FAO, CBD, IMO, IAEA, Regional United Nations Economic Commissions, UNEP-WCMC, GRID-Geneva, etc. Over the years the working group has developed a set of core indicators for consideration by the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs). The indicators include Total inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture, sewage, and atmospheric nitrogen; Inputs of marine chemical pollution Trends for selected priority chemicals; levels of marine litter quantification; ocean warming; fish landing; and Eutrophication status among others. The full list of regional seas core indicators is available here https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/regional-seas-core-indicators-set 

    Indicators in RSCAPS 

    Application of common indicators and harmonized approaches for monitoring the health of the marine and coastal environment is work in progress among the RSCAPs. 

    HELCOM: The HELCOM indicators are a critical component of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) and its approach to the assessment of good ecological/environmental status (referred to as ‘good status’ from here on) in the marine environment. HELCOM indicators are developed to evaluate the status of biodiversity elements, evaluate other relevant environmental condition factors, evaluate human-induced pressures on the Baltic Sea, and support broader assessments and overviews in the region. The indicators, and the key assessments of state and pressures they feed into, generally address issues under one of the four goals of the BSAP. The indicators provide a mechanism to address the effectiveness of the measures put in place to reach the goals and objectives of the BSAP, by regularly synthesising common regional monitoring data into an evaluation of progress towards these goals and the BSAP vision. 

    The Nairobi Convention: The Regional Framework for Ecosystem Monitoring in the Western Indian Ocean provides a list of 30 priority indicators that should be incorporated into the national efforts and whose data should feed into reporting through the Nairobi Convention Clearinghouse Mechanism.  

    Barcelona Convention: The Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme and related Assessment Criteria(IMAP) comprises common indicators for the Barcelona Convention. In the context of the Barcelona Convention, a common indicator is an indicator that summarizes data into a simple, standardized, and communicable figure and is ideally applicable in the whole Mediterranean basin, or at least on the level of sub-regions, and is monitored by all Contracting Parties. A common indicator is able to give an indication of the degree of threat or change in the marine ecosystem and can deliver valuable information to decision makers. Candidate indicators are indicators which still have many outstanding issues regarding their monitoring and assessment and therefore are recommended to be monitored in the initial phase of IMAP on a pilot and voluntary basis. 

    PERSGA: Manual for Monitoring Indicators of the Impact of Wastewater Discharge on Coral Reefs The purpose of the manual is to determine whether wastewater is a problem for living coral reefs using a citizen- science approach, to advocate for improved wastewater management and to plan for improved wastewater management if it is a problem. 

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Last updated: 15 Apr 2025, 09:55

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