Mission Blue and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have launched a new collaborative mission to accelerate locally-led ocean conservation around the world. 

The One Ocean Partnership will work to connect coastal communities with the science, expertise, partnerships and finance needed to scale solutions and build regenerative seascapes.

The collaboration was announced this week by Dr Sylvia Earle, CEO & Founder of Mission Blue and IUCN Patron of Nature, and Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN, during Climate Week NYC 2026.

It brings together two established approaches to ocean protection. IUCN contributes its global network, scientific expertise, partnerships and the regenerative seascape model pioneered under its Great Blue Wall initiative. Mission Blue brings its worldwide network of Hope Spots – ocean areas of critical ecological importance championed by local leaders.

“There is only one ocean, and every breath we take, every drop of water we drink and every life on Earth depends upon it,” said Dr Sylvia Earle, CEO and founder of Mission Blue. “Hope Spots show what becomes possible when science, local knowledge and courageous leadership come together. Through this collaboration with IUCN and the One Ocean Partnership, we can give local champions the recognition and support they deserve, create an effective network of action, and turn hope into lasting protection and recovery of the ocean at the scale needed for enduring security for life on Earth, humans very much included.”

Together, Mission Blue and IUCN will work to connect Hope Spots and regenerative seascapes, linking local conservation efforts with regional and global ocean goals. The partnership will also advance regenerative blue economy models designed to restore marine ecosystems while creating sustainable livelihoods, and support coastal and island leadership by bringing local knowledge into regional and global ocean discussions.

“Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue have shown the power of local leadership through Hope Spots. Through this partnership, we want to build on that foundation, connecting locally led conservation with the science, expertise, partnerships, and investment needed to sustain it and expand its impact,” said Razan Al Mubarak, President of IUCN. 

“By linking Hope Spots with wider regenerative seascapes, we can help turn successful local action into lasting progress for the Ocean and the communities that depend on it.”

Further strands of the collaboration include strengthening south-south and triangular cooperation between countries and communities, helping ocean leaders share knowledge and effective approaches; connecting local leaders with the expertise, partnerships and finance needed to turn solutions into action; and sharing successful examples of ocean conservation and regeneration to inspire action elsewhere.

Ocean ecosystems cross political boundaries, but the challenges facing them – and the solutions best suited to address them – vary considerably from place to place. By linking Hope Spot Champions and other local ocean leaders with IUCN’s regional networks and expertise, the partnership aims to help communities identify shared priorities, collaborate, exchange solutions, and translate global ocean goals into action on the ground.

At the heart of the collaboration is a vision for a regenerative blue economy, in which economic activity helps restore rather than deplete the ocean. The partnership will connect ocean protection and restoration with sustainable enterprise, innovation, local value creation and investment, demonstrating how healthy marine ecosystems can underpin livelihoods, resilient coastal economies and long-term prosperity.

The ocean covers more than 70% of the planet and supports food, livelihoods and economies for billions of people, while helping regulate the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide emissions. Yet warming, acidification, pollution, overfishing, more frequent extreme weather events and habitat loss are placing marine ecosystems and coastal communities under mounting pressure.

Protecting and restoring the ocean is central to meeting global commitments on biodiversity and sustainable development, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s target of effectively conserving and managing at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by 2030, and Sustainable Development Goal 14’s call for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources. 

Delivering on these commitments, the organisations say, will require coordinated action that is locally led, backed by science and finance, and connected across regions.

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