At a meeting that brought together the heads of government from across the Commonwealth, all 56 member nations signed a new agreement to protect and restore the ocean in the face of severe climate change, pollution, and the impacts of over-exploitation.

The signing of the agreement took place at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa last week where member nations took a bold new step in what has been described as a landmark agreement to adopt collective efforts to protect the ocean and use it sustainably across the Commonwealth. It’s a declaration that will impact all member nations, but particularly the 49 out of the 56 that have ocean borders.

By signing the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration for One Resilient Common Future, member nations have pledged to pave the way for ‘robust, ambitious, innovative, and transformative action’ that will build on national and collective efforts to protect the ocean.

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal sovereign states with a combined population of 2.7 billion. It covers more than one third of the world’s ocean under national jurisdiction and about 45 per cent of the world’s coral reefs. 

Key aspects of the new declaration include recognition of national maritime boundaries in the face of sea-level rise; protection of at least 30% of the ocean and restoration of at least 30% or degraded marine ecosystems by 2030; and a call for the urgent finalisation of the Global Plastic Treaty, the fifth and final discussion around which will take place in Busan this November. 

“It’s fitting that our first ocean declaration is adopted in the Blue Pacific continent given climate change has been recognised as the single greatest threat to the security and well-being of our people,” said the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.

“The ocean makes up 96% of our region; and where we are among the first to most immediately suffer the impacts of climate change.”

The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration for One Resilient Common Future is a culmination of many years of visionary and collective action. In 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed to work together towards a sustainable ocean through the adoption of the Commonwealth Blue Charter. Since then, 17 countries have been in charge of overseeing 10 Action Groups to lead talk and development across marine protection, sustainable blue economies, climate change, and ocean pollution. 

These same Action Groups are now expected to play a pivotal role in implementing the declaration and key aspects within it including increased support for the blue economy, reduction of emissions in the global maritime shipping sector, and enhanced renewable energy targets to meet the global climate goal of tripling renewable energy capacity.

“The Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration must be a line in the sand from which the world collectively transforms ocean exploitation into protection and sustainable stewardship,” said Mata’afa. “We look forward to moving from words to action.”

The agreement will now set a “new standard” for international meetings ahead of COP29 in Azerbaijan in November as well as next year’s UN Ocean Conference. The priorities of the Ocean Declaration were initially agreed upon at the first ever Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting in Cyprus earlier this year.

Representing one third of the world’s population, the Commonwealth consists of 25 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which are increasingly impacted by climate change, sea level rise, rising temperatures, and increasing ocean acidity – all of which carries a profound impact on sea life, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.

“The incredible progress we have made with the Blue Charter that underpins this declaration helps member states rise to today’s climate challenges and seize tomorrow’s opportunities,” said the Commonwealth Secretary General, Patricia Scotland KC. 

“I am confident that this declaration will have a profound and durable impact on the well-being of our people, ocean, and planet.”

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