NEWS

“The Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI), coordinated by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, was formed in the margins of CBD COP 10 to bring together various sources of support and provide holistic capacity-building to support countries in their efforts to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in marine and coastal areas. SOI builds on the resources and experiences resulting from global efforts to conserve and sustainably manage ocean resources by providing a holistic, action-oriented and strategic framework through which to catalyze partnerships, build on lessons learned and knowledge gained, and facilitate improved coordination and two-way dialogue.

Over the past 10 years, SOI has taken an impressive journey around the world, working hand-in-hand with a range of stakeholders to tackle the challenges of developing country Parties, link together different sources of capacity-building support and build a global SOI community.

As the global ocean community gathers in Lisbon at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, this is a critical opportunity to once again coalesce our collective vision and commitment to build capacity to realize ambitious goals for the future of the ocean.

This reception served as a key opportunity to celebrate the achievements of SOI over more than 10 years and serve as a major call to action to enhance ocean-focused capacity building to put the world on track to a sustainable future by calling on us all to:

• Commit to further efforts to enhance capacity building towards the achievement of SDG 14 and new goals and targets to emerge from the CBD’s Post-2020 Global Biodiveristy Framework
• Amplify our shared voice calling for increased capacity building to foment ocean action towards a sustainable future for the ocean
• Listen and Learn from the many stories and experiences from those who have contributed to, and benefitted from, SOI activities”