Guest blog: Mr.Robert Panipilla, Friends of Marine Life, India On June 8, 2026, coinciding with World Ocean Day, a landmark event in marine conservation unfolded at the Trivandrum Press Club in Kerala. The nation welcomed its first Community Marine Biodiversity Online Register, an initiative spearheaded by the collective Friends of Marine Life. This pioneering endeavour […]
Read MoreAs the world prepares for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 in Armenia, the need to protect marine biodiversity has never been more urgent. Sharks – among the ocean’s most important apex predators – help maintain healthy marine ecosystems, yet more than one-third of shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction. Their […]
Read MoreBy RISE UP Before the 11th Our Ocean Conference opened its doors, members of the RISE UP network gathered in Mombasa for a working session. Small-scale fishers’ associations, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, youth networks and civil society groups came together in one room ahead of the main conference. A small gathering before a very large […]
Read MoreBy RISE UP At the June 2026 UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, also known as SB64, governments, experts, civil society and observers gathered for the 2026 Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue. Convened under the UNFCCC process, the Dialogue created space to look more closely at how the ocean is being reflected in climate action, particularly […]
Read MoreBy Hollie Booth, University of Oxford, Bangor University & Yayasan Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan (KUL) Earlier this month, Kebersamaan Untuk Lautan (KUL) joined RISE UP for the Ocean at a workshop in Jakarta on one of the most consequential issues facing coastal communities today: the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Convened by INDEF, […]
Read MoreThis month in Hua Hin, Thailand, hundreds of fishers, researchers, organizers, policymakers and community leaders gathered for the TBTI 5th World Small Scale Fisheries Congress. Calling it simply a conference almost feels misleading, as it felt more like a meeting point between movements. There were academic panels and policy discussions, but also community exchanges, storytelling […]
Read MoreAutone Mululuma is a youth ocean advocate from Zambia, a landlocked country, who has dedicated 2025 to raising awareness about ocean protection and the High Seas Treaty. Through school outreach, government engagement, art campaigns and collaborations with youth groups like ActionAid Zambia and UNZANARSO, Autone has connected over 1,000 people to the cause, challenging the […]
Read MoreWritten by: Cornelia E Nauen, President of Mundus Maris After more than 20 years of foot dragging negotiations, the first Agreement to limit harmful fisheries subsidies has entered into force on 15 September 2025, thanks to meeting the threshold of 111 ratifications or formal letters of acceptance. The text had been adopted by the 13th […]
Read MoreCOP30 in Belém took place at a moment when the world urgently needs clarity, courage and action on climate change. At a key juncture celebrating 10 years since the Paris Agreement, the summit delivered headline outcomes: a call to triple adaptation finance, a critical step toward closing the global adaptation gap and approval of a […]
Read MoreWritten by: Marie-Céline Piednoir, Rise Up Advisory Board Member and Positive Ripple Consulting Founder Around the world, coral reefs are reaching a breaking point. With “more than 70% of reefs already threatened by climate change” and mass bleaching events sweeping across entire ocean basins, the urgency to act has never been greater. Yet even in […]
Read MoreWritten by: Sonia Violante Ptasznik According to the United Nations, youth make up 16% of the global population, a percentage expected to grow to 7% by 2030. This data highlights the influence of youth in politics, especially considering the 2030 Agenda, which requires considering young people in all goals and targets as key agents of […]
Read MoreBy RISE UP The latest International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council meeting in Kingston concluded without the adoption of a Mining Code, without approval for commercial deep-sea mining, and without resolving the major scientific, legal and governance questions that continue to shape the debate over the future of the deep ocean. As the ISA Assembly continues […]
Read MoreRISE UP recently caught up with Alwande Dube; marine conservationist, ocean advocate and Chairperson of Youth4MPAs, to explore her journey into marine conservation, the growing role of youth in protecting our oceans, and why inclusive leadership is critical to the future of Marine Protected Areas. Having recently represented Youth4MPAs at the Our Ocean Conference, where […]
Read MoreBy FONDEMAR (Fondo para el Desarrollo Sostenible de los Mares y Costas) Along Peru’s southern coast, where desert landscapes meet the nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current: one of the most productive marine ecosystems on the planet, coastal communities have intertwined their destiny with the ocean for generations. Artisanal fishers, in particular, stand not only […]
Read MoreFrom 24 to 29 April 2026, RISE UP participated in the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. Co-hosted by the Governments of Colombia and the Netherlands, the conference marked the first international space dedicated specifically to how countries can transition away from fossil fuels. While the conference did […]
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