The declaration brings together more than 60 leading organisations in a consensus on integrating the ocean into the international climate landscape.
CIIMAR is one of the institutions that has signed the Belém Ocean Declaration, a global appeal launched during COP30 in Belém do Pará to reinforce the decisive role of the ocean and forests in strategies to combat climate change.
The declaration brings together more than 60 leading organisations in the fields of science, politics and philanthropy, reflecting a growing consensus on the need to integrate the ocean and forests as central natural systems in the international climate landscape.
By joining this initiative, CIIMAR reinforces its commitment to promoting robust scientific knowledge and nature-based, ecological solutions that contribute to a sustainable climate transition.
The Belém Ocean Declaration highlights the complementary role of the ocean and forests in regulating the climate. These two systems capture and store carbon on a massive scale, regulate global temperature and biogeochemical cycles, and support essential biodiversity, while also providing vital resources to human societies.
The ocean, in particular, plays a decisive role: from producing much of the oxygen in the atmosphere to absorbing CO₂ and excess heat generated by increased emissions. Despite this, the ocean faces increasing pressures: warming, acidification, pollution, habitat loss and overexploitation. These impacts affect not only coastal areas, but also the global climate balance.
The declaration emphasises the urgency of placing the ocean at the heart of climate policies, presenting a set of measures that include:
• Explicit recognition of the ocean as a fundamental component of national mitigation and adaptation strategies;
• Ensuring that ocean solutions are inclusive and accessible, with a special focus on vulnerable countries and communities dependent on the marine environment;
• Significantly strengthening ocean observation and monitoring systems;
• The promotion of nature-based solutions and the recovery of marine and coastal ecosystems;
• The development of innovative financial mechanisms to accelerate marine conservation and support sustainable blue economies.
COP30 represents a strategic moment to consolidate global recognition of the ocean as a central element of climate action. CIIMAR is thus joining the international effort to ensure that the global community moves forward in a coordinated manner to protect the natural systems that sustain life on the planet.
By signing the Belém Ocean Declaration, CIIMAR reaffirms its role as a research centre dedicated to understanding marine and coastal ecosystems, blue biotechnology and assessing the impacts of climate change and pollution on the marine environment. CIIMAR also actively contributes to generating applied knowledge, supporting public policies and developing innovative solutions, from habitat restoration to environmental monitoring, including biotechnological approaches to sustainability and climate resilience.
