7 ocean initiatives you need to know about

It’s been three years since the United Nations’ last Ocean Conference, hosted by Portugal and Kenya in Lisbon. During that time, the headlines related to ocean health have been grave. La Niña and El Niño weather conditions led to a significant jump in global sea level rise between 2022 and 2023, and a warmer ocean, with multiple global sea surface temperature records broken.

As a result, coral reefs worldwide, across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins, have been hit by a global bleaching event – the fourth since 1998. Earth’s major ice sheets keep melting, extreme weather is becoming more frequent and intense, and ocean health is changing at a biochemical level.

But while the ocean may be changing fast, so are the solutions. A new wave of ocean innovators is quietly reshaping how we approach marine conservation, climate resilience and sustainable development.

These aren’t just scientists or policy-makers – they’re coders designing real-time ocean sensors, entrepreneurs turning seaweed into packaging, and community leaders restoring coastlines with centuries-old knowledge. Their work is often under the radar, but its impact is rippling outward – creating smarter systems, cleaner waters and new ways of living with the sea rather than just off it.

As the pressures on our ocean mount, it’s these grounded, imaginative efforts that may hold the clearest path forward. Here are some of their innovations:

Under the umbrella of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 - otherwise known as the UN's Ocean Decade - a wave of new initiatives is underway.

These include efforts to restore coral reefs, reduce plastic pollution, enhance ocean literacy and improve early warning systems for ocean hazards. The projects collectively aim to deliver transformative ocean science solutions to support the health and resilience of the world’s seas.

This global collaborative project has the ambitious goal of mapping the entire ocean floor by 2030. By compiling and sharing high-resolution bathymetric data, it supports scientific research, marine conservation and sustainable ocean management. A partnership between The Nippon Foundation and GEBCO, the initiative plays a crucial role in understanding ocean dynamics, biodiversity and climate change.

This global investing coalition, launched in 2021, is committed to supporting 1,000 innovative start-ups that have the potential to protect and restore ocean health by 2030, the end of the UN's Ocean Decade. 1000 Ocean Startups (1000OS) now features 56 leading entrepreneur-supporting organizations (ESOs) including venture studios, incubators, accelerators and financial advisories.

To date, coalition members hold approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management and have supported more than 550 ocean start-ups globally. The coalition has been hosted by the World Economic Forum's Ocean Action Agenda since 2022 and in May 2025, 1000OS launched regional communities in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Africa regions.

Launched in April, Revive Our Ocean aims to protect and restore the world’s coastal waters. The programme focuses on supporting local projects that tackle pollution, habitat loss and overfishing, with an emphasis on community-led solutions. The initiative seeks to inspire global action and raise awareness about the urgent need to safeguard marine environments for future generations.

The Pacific 'continent' spans 42 million square kilometres of ocean and is home to almost a third of the world's coral - as well as 42 million people. The Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity framework aims to protect and support this area with sustainable finance, "making it the largest conservation effort in history". It is also aligned with the Pacific Leaders' 2050 Strategy, which celebrates the deep connection between ocean and people and strives to protect both.

Part of the UN’s Ocean Decade network, this is a multi-year scientific expedition circumnavigating Africa. The project aims to advance marine research, strengthen local scientific capacity and promote ocean literacy. By involving African scientists and communities, the mission seeks to address regional challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change impacts and sustainable resource management.

Inspired by nature and crafted by 3D printer, these artificial homes for sea creatures have been invented by a university-based start-up in Australia and are helping to bring marine life back to concrete coastlines and harbours. Living Seawalls is a World Economic Forum UpLink Top Innovator, having established “a simple and cost-effective way to enhance native biodiversity”. Other UpLink Ocean innovators include Urchinomics, a restorative aquaculture venture restoring kelp forests through responsible urchin ranching, and Pinovo: Clean Blasting, a patented new technology that can sand-blast industrial and marine surfaces in a more environmentally friendly - and cheaper - way.

The UN's Ocean Decade is one of many initiatives building momentum for urgent ocean action. In anticipation of the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), in Nice, France, 9-13 June, the Forum's Friends of Ocean Action has identified four key areas of focus - Ocean-Climate; 30x30; Blue Foods; and Pollution - to 'Bring it All Together'.

The idea is to link up the historic ocean-related agreements made in recent years - for instance, the BBNJ or High Seas Treaty; the Global Plastics Treaty; and the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies - in order to accelerate their implementation, as well as to help meet the world’s 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14) to 'conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea and marine resources for sustainable development'.

"We cannot keep pretending we're safeguarding the ocean while over-exploiting it for the sake of short-term profits," warned Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean in May. He said the forthcoming UNOC3 is "an unmissable opportunity to ride the tide to ocean protection" and urged countries and governments to take "bold and immediate action".