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Wetlands International at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum & UN Ocean Conference 2025

Wetlands International at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum & UN Ocean Conference 2025

Event

Expired

Date: Jun 07, 2025 - Jun 13, 2025

Venue: Nice, France

Join us in accelerating ocean action and scaling up wetland solutions

Wetlands International will join governments, global institutions, and civil society from 7-8 June at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) in Monaco and from 9 to 13 June 2025, in Nice, France for the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC). Under the theme “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”, this pivotal gathering aims to catalyse commitments and forge partnerships to advance Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14).

As a global advocate for healthy wetlands, we bring a distinct voice and practical solutions that bridge land and sea. Wetlands—especially mangroves, saltmarshes, and coastal peatlands—are critical ecosystems in the fight against biodiversity loss, climate change, and water insecurity.

Despite their immense value, they remain underfunded and underappreciated and are in trouble due to exploitive and unsustainable human actions. Existing conservation and restoration activities, although positive at a local scale, will not be enough to save and restore the worlds mangroves, saltmarshes and other coastal wetlands. Their protection and restoration are indispensable to a resilient, nature-positive ocean and urgently requires investment at scale.

Countries should see Nice as an opportunity for including strong mitigation and adaptation commitments and measures for the protection and restoration of coastal wetlands in their next round of national climate plans due by the end of this year.

Our mission aligns closely with the ambition of UNOC: to effectively conserve and restore our coastal ecosystems through inclusive, science-based, and scalable solutions. We are at BEFF and UNOC to:

Mobilise finance for large-scale mangrove conservation and restoration initiatives, building on local and scientific best practices to help deliver the Mangrove Breakthrough in three flagship countries: Indonesia, Guinea Bissau, and Mexico.
Announce the upcoming release of 3 Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough reports for Asia, West Africa and Latin America that provide potential funders, governments, NGOs and others with an understanding of opportunities and priorities for investment in mangrove restoration and conservation within these 3 critical regions.
Promote best practices like Ecological Mangrove Restoration and the Global Mangrove Watch, in support of effective mangrove restoration and coastal ecosystem mapping.
Highlight the powerful role of saltmarshes to tackle climate change, restore nature and build coastal resilience, and showcase where the biggest opportunities lie to halt their loss, protect and restore them, including political tools and funding mechanisms that can turn things around.
Elevate the role of coastal wetlands in climate and biodiversity agendas, contributing to discussions on effective conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems, including through protected areas and OECMs, ocean resilience, sustainable aquaculture and fisheries, and the blue economy.
Mobilise finance to protect mangroves, estuaries, and mudflats along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, vital for 50 million migratory waterbirds and local livelihoods.

Meet us at the following events

Blue Economy & Finance Forum, 7-8 June 2025, Monaco

Financing the Future of Coastal Communities: Scaling Solutions for Sustainable Fisheries
and Aquaculture, hosted by Rare.
June 7th at 17:00 – 18:30, Solutions Hub
In the panel discussion: Scaling what Works, Pieter van Eijk will be sharing Wetlands International’s experience with different mixed mangrove aquaculture approaches tested in Indonesia and Philippines. We also represent the Mangrove Breakthrough sharing what partners are doing to mobilize finance at scale for mangroves

🔗 Register here

Learn more about the Blue Economy & Finance Forum

UN Oceans, 9-13 June, Nice

High-Level Mangrove Breakthrough Event: Uniting for Impact: Building Strategic Partnerships to Achieve the Mangrove Breakthrough’s Goals
Green Zone, 10 June 10.00-11.00, La Baleine, CAF and Costa Rica Pavilion
This side event will showcase how the Mangrove Breakthrough is fostering transformative collaboration across sectors and stakeholders that delivers investment and action on the ground. There will be key announcements and we will highlight new large-scale opportunities to invest in mobilizing Mangrove Breakthrough to achieve action on the ground in Indonesia, Mexico and Guinea Bissau, initiated by the Global Mangrove Alliance.
🔗 Register here

High Level Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough Champions Funders Dinner:
June 10, 19.00-21.00, invitation only
Engaging key philanthropies and financial institutions to explore national-level investment opportunities to scale transformative mangrove restoration and protection in Guinea Bissau, Mexico and Indonesia, to Mobilize the Mangrove Breakthrough.

Connecting Ocean, Water and Wetland Stakeholder Networks from Source to Sea
11 June, 10-11am, UNESCO-IOC/French Office for Biodiversity Pavillion, Green Zone, by Wetlands Resource Center, Wetland Relay Centers, Ramsar France Association, SNPN.
A dialogue showcasing the integrated Source to Sea approach, highlighting the necessary cooperation between stakeholders from the mountains to the high seas to safeguard the ocean, showcasing examples of effective stakeholder networks. Wetlands International will speak about national and landscape level coordination of large-scale mangrove projects to mobilise the Mangrove Breakthrough.

Mangroves, a solution for climate adaptation: NGO perspectives
June 11, 11:45 – 12:45, La Baleine, Archipel Pavilion (French Development Agency), by Planète Urgence
This session invites you to discover the field projects of three NGOs working to restore mangroves around the world. Together, they will explore the levers for maximizing and sustaining their impact: choice of restoration techniques, monitoring tools, involvement of local communities, and mobilization of climate financing. Wetlands International contributes with insights from its Community-based Ecological Mangrove restoration projects in Guinea Bissau and Indonesia.

Coastal Climate Heroes Panel
June 11, from 15.30 to 17.30 on board of the METEOR (German research vessel) , Quai Ile de Beauté
The event will present and discuss various results and lessons learned from international cooperation funded or supported by Germany for the protection, sustainable use and restoration of coastal ecosystems – our #CoastalClimateHeroes. The event will also to take stock of the past and ongoing efforts to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems and discuss what kind of commitments and strategic decisions are now needed to sustain and enhance efforts. Wetlands International will highlight some of its mangrove restoration and conservation work in the Western Indian Ocean.
🔗 Register here
In case of questions, please reach out to [email protected]

Mangrove Breakthrough Council Meeting
11 June, 9.00-11.00 – Closed meeting

MB-ICRI Reception: From Nice to Belem: Accelerating Ocean Action through the High Level Climate Champion Breakthrough Agenda
11 Jun, 18:30–20:30, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 13 Prom. des Anglais
🔗 To ask for an invitation for the Joint Reception co-hosted with the International Coral Reef Initiative, apply here

Climate Risk Tools for the Ocean – Democratizing data for shared decision-making
12 June, 8.00-9.30, Le Saint Paul Hotel – Salon Cézanne – invite only
An exchange of expertise on datasets and platforms that inform on climate risks to marine biodiversity and its implications for fisheries and MPAs. We will explore ocean climate risk from high-level policy to scientific challenges and innovative solutions. The session will inform the development of a new tool and platform: the Climate Risk Index for Biodiversity. Wetlands International will share insights from the Global Mangrove Watch platform.

Our team in Monaco & Nice

We welcome opportunities to meet with partners, donors, governments, and media throughout UNOC. Our delegation includes: Pieter van Eijk (Monoca and Nice), Irene Kingma, Paul Mbatia, Jennifer Tabola, and Susanna Tol. If you’re attending BEFF and UNOC, we invite you to reach out and schedule a meeting with our team. Contact us at susanna.tol @ wetlands.org

Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean – Let’s be Nice to Wetlands

As the world accelerates efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goals and biodiversity targets, Wetlands International is championing wetlands as essential allies for a thriving ocean and resilient communities. We look forward to forging new partnerships, inspiring bold commitments, and driving wetland solutions that deliver for people and nature.

Learn more about the UN Ocean Conference 2025