June 9, 2025 — The third U.N. Ocean Conference opened Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea.
The conference comes as just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That’s far below the target agreed under the “30×30” pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030.
Atop this year’s agenda is ratification of the High Seas Treaty . Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned.