A Rising Tide of Possibility: Why the United Nations Ocean Conference Should have Inspired South Africa

South Africa’s 2 798km coastline is not merely a feature of its geography but a characteristic that shaped the destiny of our people.

Indigenous coastal communities of the Wild Coast held a deep symbiotic and spiritual connection to the ocean for generations. The oceans were a place of peace, where their ancestors resided. However, in later years, the oceans became gateways for foreign colonial powers, who first arrived by sea and then, later, enslaved and indentured people were brought by ship from India, Madagascar and other parts of Africa.

This labour helped build the economy of the Cape and the sugar cane fields of Natal.

Where these ships once anchored around the sheltered natural bays and lagoons along the coast, settlements sprang up that later gave rise to South Africa’s coastal cities of Cape Town, Gqeberha and Durban. At the core of these cities are sophisticated harbours that are hubs and engine rooms of trade and labour, connecting us to the world and global economies.

With this long maritime history and indelible link to the ocean rooted in exploitation and colonisation, what then becomes of South Africa’s future in relation to its ocean realm? With harbours and infrastructure, sea lanes and trade routes well established, attention turns to the ocean itself as a resource with established potential for offshore oil and gas, fisheries and aquaculture, coastal and marine tourism, and marine scientific research and innovation.

An initiative of the government, Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy, was designed and launched in 2014 to unlock the economic potential of these ocean-related sectors. In the implementation of this plan, questions can be asked about how best the ocean can be sustainably exploited, how its living resources could be conserved, how it can be protected from multiple security threats, and how all stakeholders, especially vulnerable coastal communities, can be heard in matters that affect their livelihoods and culture.

In relation to sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 – (life below water) – one of the 17 goals of the framework under the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

A high-level United Nations Conference to support the implementation of SDG14 took place in Nice, France, recently. Known as the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, it aimed to ‘support further and urgent action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development and identify further ways and means to support the implementation of SDG 14.’

The conference incorporated an impressively wide range of stakeholders, from national governments, intergovernmental, non-governmental and civil society organisations, philanthropic organisations, the private sector, academic institutions, and indigenous people and local communities.

South Africa played a role in this conference as a United Nations member state and also at official side events – for example, the country’s Maritime Safety Authority presented on the implementation and challenges of addressing underwater radiated noise from shipping at an event held by the International Maritime Organisation. Using such platforms, South Africa was able to demonstrate its commitment to marine conservation and sustainable development. At the conference, South Africa also became a signatory to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (the High Seas Treaty).

Our country has a robust legal framework for ocean governance across ministries, and we are a party to numerous regional governance instruments in the Atlantic, Indian and Southern Oceans. We also have the platform to highlight both the challenges and initiatives of ordinary South Africans in our local communities, from curbing plastic waste in the ocean to litigation surrounding proposed offshore mining in coastal areas.

The outcomes of the conference provided a narrative for ordinary South Africans in our communities to reshape their relationship with our ocean to see it as a space and industry for job creation and food security and to also see ourselves as stewards of our oceans, where climate justice, marine conservation and protection begin at community level.

With World Oceans Day, the International Day for the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing being in June and the recent worldwide release of the documentary Ocean by Sir David Attenborough – which preceded the UN Oceans Conference – there was never a better time in recent years for South Africans to awaken from their “sea blindness” and partner with their government to take a leading role in the sustainable use of our shared oceans.