Marine Regions Forum

Achieving a Healthy Ocean – Regional Ocean Governance Beyond 2020

Marine Regions Forum logo

Overview

The Marine Regions Forum (MRF) is an international multi-stakeholder platform aimed at strengthening regional ocean governance as a bridge between global commitments and local action.

The first Marine Regions Forum was held under the theme
“Achieving a healthy ocean – Regional ocean governance beyond 2020”, bringing together decision-makers, scientists, regional organisations, and civil-society actors from across the world’s marine regions. The Forum provided a space for informal, solution-oriented dialogue focused on advancing the ocean dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular SDG 14: Life Below Water.

Purpose and Rationale

Global ocean agreements rely heavily on effective regional implementation. The Marine Regions Forum was established to:

  • Highlight the strategic role of marine regions in ocean governance
  • Support regional and national voices in global ocean processes
  • Foster collaboration across science, policy, and practice
  • Translate global commitments into actionable regional initiatives

Regions were positioned as critical intermediaries between international agreements, national implementation, and local realities.

The 2019 Marine Regions Forum

Dates: 30 September – 2 October 2019
Location: Berlin, Germany
Participants: Approximately 200 representatives from governments, regional organisations, academia, international organisations, and civil society

Discussions were organised through plenary sessions and interactive dialogues around three core pillars.

Marine Regions Forum logo

Key Discussion Pillars

1. Achieving SDG 14

Sessions explored how regional cooperation can accelerate delivery of the Ocean SDG, including:

  • Implementing regional marine litter action plans
  • Enhancing synergies across ocean-related SDGs
  • Accelerating progress through ecosystem-based management
  • Sustainable tourism in marine regions
  • Turning commitments into measurable action

2. Underpinning Global Ocean Processes

Dialogue addressed how regional governance can reinforce and shape global frameworks, including:

  • Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and high seas governance
  • Monitoring, control, and surveillance
  • Coherent and connected marine protected area (MPA) networks
  • Deep-seabed mining and regional governance roles
  • Climate change impacts on oceans, including findings from the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere
  • Fisheries on the move and climate-driven shifts
  • Mobilising regional stakeholders in global processes such as the “Blue COP”

3. Knowledge for Ocean Action

Sessions focused on the role of knowledge, inclusion, and culture in ocean governance:

  • Building and strengthening regional science–policy interfaces
  • Integrating traditional ecological knowledge
  • Regional engagement in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
  • Enhancing the role of regions in global ocean assessments
  • Exploring the role of arts and culture in mobilising youth and public engagement for ocean conservation

Outcomes and Legacy

The Forum provided a unique space for decision-makers, scientists, and civil-society actors from different marine regions to:

  • Share practical governance experiences
  • Identify transferable solutions and best practices
  • Develop clear messages and recommendations for global and regional processes
  • Build partnerships for stronger regional ocean governance

Key messages from the Forum were forwarded to relevant international and regional processes, including preparations for the 2020 UN Ocean Conference.

Institutional Context

The Marine Regions Forum is a contribution to the Partnership for Regional Ocean Governance, a collaborative initiative involving:

  • Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)
  • Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI)
  • TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability
  • UN Environment

The Forum stemmed from commitments made by Germany and the European Union at the 2017 UN Ocean Conference (New York) and the 2017 Our Ocean Conference (Malta) to support a global, multi-stakeholder platform for regional ocean governance.

Reports and Documentation

Archived initiative. Included here as part of a broader body of work on regional ocean governance, high seas policy, and pathways toward collective stewardship of the global ocean commons.