Conferences are complex and costly. For the organisers as well as the participants. Our team had previously devoted time to the question of whether the presence of our Polynesian catamaran Vaka Okeanos, along with its team, crew and youth delegates, could make a valuable contribution to the third UN Ocean Conference. What can a small German foundation achieve on the ground? The UNOC is over and we take a look back to draw a very personal conclusion for the future.
While in the ‘Blue Zone’ delegates negotiated on fishing, plastic pollution, deep sea mining, the protection of the high seas and other topics, and in the ‘Green Zone’ civil society actors, institutes and organisations put the most important ocean issues on the social agenda in workshops, lectures or discussions, the focus of our activities was mainly outside these conference zones.As the only traditional Polynesian catamaran in Europe, Vaka Okeanos was moored in the harbour of Nice and offered space for events, guided tours, intensive discussions and often surprising changes of perspective.
Right at the start of the conference, however, the Vaka was part of the ‘Marine Parade’, a parade of the ships that were also in port during the week as part of the UNOC programme. And in the very best of company, among legends such as the German research vessel Meteor, the French research vessel Thalassa, the French schooner Tara, the WWF’s Blue Panda, the traditional sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl and others. Because the crew and team wanted to give representatives from the Pacific in particular the opportunity to ring in the conference from the Mediterranean as ‘Voices of the Ocean’, the guest list was international: New Caledonia, Samoa, Fiji and the Federated States of Micronesia were represented by Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPS) Ivy Dombal, Nolani Hazelman, Maloni Siga and Tazmin Falan, while French Polynesia was represented by First Lady Teua Temaru, wife of President Moetai Brotherson, and Secretary General Etienne de la Fouchardiere.
Video report on local television
During the week in the harbour, the Vaka primarily developed into a hub for representatives of various Pacific States. The delegation from French Polynesia took the opportunity to organise four events on board. The fact that FP really wants to make a difference at the UNOC was also demonstrated by the government’s announcement to place five million square kilometres of ocean under protection and thus create the largest marine protected area in the world. One fifth of the area is even to be placed under strict protection. Conservation International New Zealand discussed with guests about ‘Indigenous wisdom and nature-based financing to protect the oceans’, Deepwave with experts about shifting narratives in deep-sea mining. Kamehameha Schools and Green Growth Hawaii brought impressive youth delegates to the panel and discussed with guests how more place-based wisdom and cultural intelligence can contribute to ocean conservation in the future. They reversed the common perspective of ‘thinking global, acting local’ and argued in favour of thinking locally to act globally.
Together with the German Council on Foreign Relations, the Senckenberg Institute for Nature Research and the Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance, Okeanos organised a Youth Talanoa on the topic of Active Hope in Times of Earth System Crisis and a Breakfast Discussion ‘From Active Hope to Action’ on board, with impulses from Antje Boetius (MBARI), Sabine Mathesius (PIK Potsdam) and Angelika Brandt (Senckenberg), moderated by Kira Vinke. Dr Isabelle Szott (Okeanos) presented the work of the foundation on board the Meteor as part of the Senckenberg event ‘Unusual Alliances’, Jana Steingässer and Jorge Sanchez (Okeanos) took a look at the work with a Polynesian catamaran in the Mediterranean with their guests in the Green Zone.
With our own focus on promoting young ocean voices, Vaka Okeanos was also and above all a meeting place for ECOPS (Early Career Ocean Professionals) and representatives of youth environmental organisations from all over the world. Meanwhile, the youth ambassadors of ‘UNOC Explained’ conducted interviews with exciting guests such as Antje Boetius (MBARI), Steffi Lemke, Boris Herrmann, Anna Groß (Deepwave), Paul Watson, Carsten Schneider, Anna von Rebay (Oceanvisionlegal), Kira Vinke (DGAP) and many more.
During the lunch breaks, the team and crew offered official guided tours on board. However, many delegates also simply used the breaks to take off their shoes on the pier, stroll along the gangway and take a break in the netting between the hulls or chat under the awning.
Guests on the Vaka barely noticed what was happening in the blue zone, a stone’s throw from the Vaka on the other side of the harbour basin. Perhaps that was precisely the attraction – and the added value of our presence. On board, it was all about warmly welcoming an international, diverse ocean community, connecting people, getting to know other perspectives and asking questions – with curiosity, courage and foresight. Facts and figures were discussed and something else was practised: the ability to cooperate,to tolerate ambiguity, to engage in dialogue and criticism. The intervention of a participant from the Cook Islands, who shared her views on deep sea mining with us, will be particularly memorable for the team and crew. ‘No deep sea mining’ – she personally supported this demand, but it was met with a lack of understanding in her home country, where deep sea mining is – and must be – discussed differently from the perspective of possible financial independence. One of the key messages was that solutions cannot necessarily be agreed on over night but require an empathetic change of perspective and many arduous yet rewarding discussions and approaches. And at the same time, courageous decisions need to be made. Quickly and with the affected coastal and island communities at the table. After all, 51 states had already ratified the High Seas Convention (BBNJ) by the end of the conference. 9 more votes are missing to enable implementation. Germany’s vote is still outstanding!
The team took home a very explicit wish for the next UNOC – made to us by Pilialoha Carlson, a 16-year-old student at Kamehameha School Hawaii. ‘I wish for more challenging dialogue partners who don’t think like me – and who I can convince of how important the ocean is!’