MOMBASA, Kenya — Nations across Africa and the Commonwealth are demanding faster action on a groundbreaking international agreement designed to safeguard the world’s oceans, cautioning that despite record-setting conservation pledges, real protection of marine environments remains largely unfinished business.
The urgent appeal came Tuesday at the 11th Our Ocean Conference held in Mombasa — marking the first time an African country has hosted the high-profile annual gathering. The event brings together leaders to tackle pressing ocean challenges, from climate change and biodiversity loss to pollution.
The conference drew hundreds of delegates representing Africa, the United States, the European Union, and island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific that are especially vulnerable to climate impacts. Host nation leaders have used the occasion to position Africa as a central player in shaping how the world governs its oceans.
At the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers’ Roundtable, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the High Seas Treaty as a historic milestone. The agreement took effect in January after 60 countries ratified it, establishing for the first time a legal framework for creating protected zones in international waters.
Kerry was quick to note, however, that the pace of progress falls far short of what’s needed.
“We have 10% of the ocean under protection this year,” Kerry said. “That is worth marking. But only 3% is highly or fully protected, and the rest of the protections are, unfortunately, just lines on a map.”
He also raised concerns about industrial fishing operations, describing fleets that travel thousands of miles from their home ports and deploy enormous nets that sweep up marine life indiscriminately.
Kerry urged nations that have not yet signed on to act without delay. “Ratify it if you haven’t, and move immediately to implementation,” he said, pointing out that major decisions about the treaty’s future will be made next year.
The agreement, officially called the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, is designed to help the world meet a target of placing 30% of both land and ocean under protection by the year 2030.
Kenya’s Cabinet secretary of maritime affairs, Hassan Joho, stressed that the time for talking has passed and that governments must now deliver concrete results.
“The purpose of this roundtable is not to restate ambition, but to convert such pledges into measurable results for our communities, our economies and our oceans,” Joho said.
Joho highlighted that since 2014, the One Ocean Conference has produced more than 2,900 pledges totaling over $169 billion. The real test, he said, is whether those commitments translate into genuine management of ocean ecosystems.
The 56 member states of the Commonwealth together control 36% of the world’s ocean jurisdiction and are home to nearly half of its coral reefs, giving the group an outsized role in marine conservation.
Africa is increasingly emerging as a leader in protecting ocean resources. Kerry highlighted the efforts of eight nations in the Gulf of Guinea that have committed to sustainably managing all of their waters by 2030.
“A region long described as a victim of ocean exploitation is now choosing to lead instead,” he said.
Kenya itself has expanded its marine protected areas, developed integrated coastal management plans, and intensified efforts to crack down on illegal and unregulated fishing. The country’s 640-kilometer (400-mile) coastline and large exclusive economic zone support fisheries, tourism, and other industries that provide livelihoods for millions of people.
As talks continue in Mombasa, delegates say the months ahead will be decisive in determining whether the treaty becomes a genuine force for ocean conservation — or simply another round of international commitments that never fully materialize.
