Our Oceans 11
In June 2026, Kenya will host the 11th Our Ocean Conference, OOC11, marking the first time the conference is held in Africa. This year’s theme – Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future – celebrates the connection between people and the ocean. Wetlands International will bring a delegation from West and East Africa and our global office to the conference.
Why does the Our Ocean Conference matter?
The conference is a critical step in the global effort to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 benefiting people, climate, and biodiversity by mobilizing finance, partnerships and policy implementation that deliver impact for people, climate and nature.
Our delegation at OOC11:
Wetlands International’s events at OOC11
Wetlands International will co-host and contribute to several of the conference’s events and discussions, particularly focused around the conference themes Sustainable Blue Economy, Marine Protected Areas, Marine Pollution and the Ocean-Climate Nexus, as well as Blue Finance. We will highlight urgent topics such as plastics in mangroves, finance for coastal wetlands, fundable high-quality mangrove initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean region and West Africa, community leadership, transformative partnerships and best practices for restoration, contributing to the 30×30 goals. Finally, we share tools and restore to help conserve and restore coastal wetlands.
15 June
Blue Connections: A Networking Session for Our Blue Future Partners & Stakeholders:
Networking event for meaningful conversations around strategic partnerships, collaboration, and sustainable blue economy investments.
Hosted by: GIZ, Wetlands International East Africa
Time: TBC
Venue: Business Forum
Speaker Wetlands International: TBC
High-Level Roundtable: Financing the Marine Conservation Breakthroughs: Advancing Global Action from Mombasa to Antalya
This roundtable is part of the Regenerative Ocean Forum – Blue Entrepeneurship, Knowledge, Policy and Financing. The event will convene government officials, representatives from multilateral development banks, financial institutions, NGOs, and research partners to share practical experiences and identify pathways to further advance finance solutions for marine ecosystems. The event will focus on case studies, enabling conditions, and innovative finance approaches that can help bridge the gap between policy ambition and implementation on the road to COP31.
Hosted by: the Mangrove Breakthrough, MAC, GMA, High-Level Champions, COP30 Presidency, ICRI, GFCR, Wetlands International, UN-CMS, IUCN, Kelp Forest Challenge
Time: 15.00-16.00
Venue: Flamingo Hotel (Pride Inn).
Speaker Wetlands International: Julie Mulonga or Pieter van Eijk
16 June
Ocean Action Agenda: On the Road to COP31 Workshop
Description: This event will convene non-state actors from the ocean community to plan for an ambitious ocean agenda at UNFCCC COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, with the goal to accelerate ocean-based climate action and ultimately, the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Hosted by: Action Agenda Activation Group 7, OA Alliance, TNC, Ocean Climate Platform, Climate Champions Team, COP31 Presidency, COP30 Presidency
Time: 11.00-13.00
Venue: Flamingo Hotel (Pride Inn)
Wetlands International will participate in the roundtable.
17 June
Blue Carbon Ecosystem Conservation Across the Western Indian Ocean – Consolidating Progress & Mapping Next Steps
Description: Stocktake of recent advancements for mangrove and seagrass conservation across the Western Indian Ocean
Hosted by: Government representatives from Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, alongside broader country representation from the Nairobi Convention and other regional experts
Time: 13.00-15.00
Venue: TBC
Speaker Wetlands International: TBC
18 June
Strategic Announcement of Sustainable Western Indian Ocean Programme
Description: This event will announce a new Western Indian Ocean Programme on blue economy investment, blue carbon, governance and ecosystem resilience,.
Hosts: GIZ, EU
Time: 8.30-9.45
Venue: TBC
Speaker Wetlands International: Julie Mulonga
Africa Blue Carbon workshop
Description: This event will discuss blue carbon, and community livelihoods
Hosted by: Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute (KMFRI) in collaboration with Global Mangrove Alliance Kenya (Wetlands International, The Nature Conservancy, WWF-Kenya, IUCN)
Time: 11.00-13.00
Venue: TBC
Speaker Wetlands International: Julie Mulonga
Blue Finance in Action: Scaling Ocean and Community-focused Solutions
Description: This event will spotlight innovative financial models that can help close the persistent financing gap for marine conservation that strengthens locally led solutions.
Time: 8.30-9.45
Venue: TBC
Hosted by: WWF and Sanlam
Speaker Wetlands International: Julie Mulonga
Scaling Ocean-Climate Action at COP31 — From Dialogue to Delivery through Blue NDCs and Finance Reform
Description: This event will create a strategic bridge between policy ambition, finance reform, and local action to accelerate delivery of ocean-climate solutions. The discussion will highlight how investing in and increasing access to climate finance for ocean-climate solutions can deliver on cross-sector investment, workforce development, and national implementation goals. The side event will offer a readout of the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue discussions, preview the launch of the Blue NDC Implementation Taskforce, and showcase practical implementation examples.
Hosted by: Ocean & Climate Platform, WRI, Ocean Conservancy, Woods Hole Institution, DEHUKAM, UNFCCC Secretariat, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Fiji, France, Turkey
Time: 8.30-9.45
Venue: TBC
Speaker role Wetlands International: TBC
OCC11 Plenary event: Tackling Plastics, from Micro to Macro
Description: The Our Ocean Conference will explore solutions to a problem that besets the world’s coastlines: marine pollution. In this plenary event Julie Mulonga, Wetlands International East Africa will share how plastic pollution is increasingly recognised as a major threat to mangrove ecosystems, limiting seedling survival, and create risks for biodiversity and local livelihoods, and how to address this in Kenya.
Hosted by: OOC11
Time: 16.30-17.45
Venue: TBC
Speaker Wetlands International: Julie Mulonga
Our Ocean Conference 2026 NGO Closing Reception
Description: The NGO community in partnership with the Government of Kenya and the upcoming host of OOC12 are delighted to invite you to celebrate the accomplishments of the Our Ocean Conference held in Mombasa, Kenya.
Hosts: Pew Charitable Trusts
Time: immediately after OOC ends
Venue: TBC
Wetlands International is co-sponsoring the reception
Video spotlights
Our tools and resources to help protect and restore marine ecosystems:
Global Mangrove Watch: the most complete and up-to-date mangrove monitoring platform:
Our best practice guidelines for coastal wetland restoration:
Downloads
Downloads
Contact persons
