The 11th Our Ocean conference convened in Mombasa, Kenya, advancing marine protection commitments while exposing persistent funding and political barriers to ocean conservation.

John Kerry, the conference founder, emphasized that the ocean must become central to global climate strategy. The conference produced pledges to expand marine protected areas and increase conservation funding, but implementation gaps remain significant.

Oceans absorb roughly 90 percent of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions and capture about 25 percent of annual CO2 releases. This carbon sequestration function makes marine ecosystems critical infrastructure for climate mitigation. Yet ocean acidification, warming waters, and overfishing continue degrading marine habitats at accelerating rates.

The Mombasa summit brought together governments, NGOs, and private sector actors to coordinate ocean policy. Participants committed to expanding marine protected areas and establishing new funding mechanisms for coastal conservation. However, developing nations flagged persistent obstacles. Many lack capital for enforcement operations in vast oceanic territories. Trade-offs between fishing economies and conservation remain unresolved in numerous jurisdictions.

Previous Our Ocean conferences, held since 2014, generated over $180 billion in ocean-related commitments. Yet actual disbursement lags significantly behind pledges. Tracking mechanisms remain weak, allowing governments to announce initiatives without demonstrating results.

The conference addressed blue carbon ecosystems, mangrove forests, and coral reef restoration as climate solutions. These habitats sequester carbon at rates 10 to 40 times faster than terrestrial forests. Scientists stress that protecting existing marine ecosystems proves cheaper and more effective than restoration after degradation occurs.

Threats to ocean health accelerated during the pandemic. Illegal fishing expanded as enforcement capacity declined. Plastic pollution reached new highs. Industrial aquaculture expansion destroyed mangrove forests in Southeast Asia and West Africa.

Kerry's framing positions ocean protection as climate action,