Symposium in Guangzhou Advanced UN Ocean Decade with China’s Stakeholder Engagement

From December 26 to 27, the 2025 Symposium on Advancing the Implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) took place in Guangzhou, China. Hosted by the Decade Collaborative Centre on Ocean-Climate Nexus and Coordination Amongst Decade Implementing Partners (DCC-OCC), the South China Sea Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the First Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources, the symposium centered around the theme "Strengthening the Link Between Science and Policy to Empower the UN Ocean Decade Process." It comprehensively summarized China's accomplishments in engaging with the UN Ocean Decade, exchanged and shared the latest operational experiences, and engaged in detailed discussions regarding strategic planning for the latter half of the Ocean Decade.

As one of China's ten endorsed programmes by the United Nations, Professor Kenneth Leung, the director of the Global Estuaries Monitoring (GEM) Programme, was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the symposium. Professor Leung outlined the achievements of the GEM programme over the past five years and proposed its future initiatives, while extending a sincere invitation to both domestic and international implementation partners to collaborate in future research endeavors.

The symposium also included presentations and discussions from other Ocean Decade programmes, projects, and stakeholders in China.