The Monaco Statement

(2023)

Please find an excerpt of the full PDF below

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is a proud member of the Foundation’s Dialogue, and signed on to the Monaco Statement to help align philanthropic investments in marine science to address the goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. 

The Foundations Dialogue of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (‘the Ocean Decade’) is an informal, global network of more than 30 community, corporate, and private philanthropic organizations working together to support the vision of the Ocean Decade of ‘the science we need for the ocean we want,’ and thus contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and relevant UN processes. This statement has been developed by participants at the Third Foundations Dialogue Meeting hosted by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in June 2023, and builds upon discussions and outcomes of the Second Foundations Dialogue Meeting, including the Bouknadel Statement. The Living Oceans Foundation participated in these meetings and helped to craft the statement below, which was released at an event held during the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit in New York City.

We the participants at the Third Foundations Dialogue meeting:

  • Reaffirm our support for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021 – 2030 as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity already making significant strides to collectively set priorities for creation, generation, propagation, and use of ocean knowledge to contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Appreciate the significant achievements made implementing the Bouknadel Statement and commit to continuing the Foundations Dialogue and solidifying the position of philanthropic organizations as key actors in achieving the Ocean Decade vision.
  • Will continue to build on these commitments to convene diverse partners across society, explore innovative financing, and strive for a more equitable distribution of resources for ocean science and support for co-design, capacity development, and strategic communications.
  • Recognize that for the uptake of ocean knowledge by society and policymakers, we support diverse types of ocean science from basic science to solutions-oriented research, engineering, development, testing and transfer of technology, as well as advocacy and cross cutting aspects including capacity development, communication, and co-design. This addresses environmental, social, cultural, and economic needs, and fosters adherence to principles of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and justice as referred to in the Ocean Decade Implementation Plan.
  • Commit to working with IOC/UNESCO as the Ocean Decade coordinating agency to identify and support priority needs of the endorsed Decade programmes and projects, and to target investment of our in-kind and financial resources to fulfill the ambition of the Ocean Decade Challenges.
  • Commit to advancing and expanding the role of philanthropic organizations to strengthen science – policy – society connections and ensure Ocean Decade generated science, knowledge, and evidence informs relevant UN frameworks and processes including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as well as other existing and emerging global, regional, and national policy frameworks.
  • Foster diversity within the Foundations Dialogue and commit to working within and across our networks and regions to engage new Foundations in this Dialogue.
  • Recognize that working with diverse partners outside of philanthropy, including government, academia, NGOs, local communities, and industry, is critical to achieve our aims, and commit to actively nurturing such partnerships to advance our work.
  • Understand the importance of sharing knowledge and developing best practices and standards, including key performance indicators, for investment in ocean science and commit to advancing dialogue and outcomes in this regard. We also commit to creating incentives for collaboration by philanthropic organizations around common areas of interest.
  • Commit to using international and regional events and meetings – in particular UN processes, funder specific convenings, and other events identified – to promote Foundations Dialogue and Ocean Decade activities.
  • Identify the following priority areas of action for philanthropic engagement to further the achievements of the Ocean Decade and commit to exploring support for any one or more of these areas of action as individual organizations or as a group:

I. Initiatives and Tools to Facilitate Joint Philanthropic Support to the Ocean Decade

 

  • Resourcing and operationalising the Funders Collaborative to catalyse the integration of co-design, communications and uptake, and capacity development across the UN Ocean Decade endorsed programs, projects, and activities.
  • Development of tools and resources for identification and matchmaking of priority needs of Ocean Decade Actions with the priorities and interests of the Foundations Dialogue members.
  • Philanthropic organization engagement in, and/or contributions to, pooled funding through the Belmont Forum for projects that will contribute to the Ocean Decade, initially for Africa.
  • Support for participatory development of regional roadmaps and priority setting and coordination with an initial focus on the South Pacific.

II. Replication or Expansion of Established Initiatives Supporting the Ocean Decade

  • Expansion of the ‘technology testbed’ initiative to other regions, and coordination of efforts to overcome obstacles to the transfer and movement of technology and equipment.
  • Coordination with and support to the Ocean Decade Capacity Development Facility.

III. Best Practices, Standards and Knowledge Products for Philanthropic Support to Ocean Decade

  • Development of a position paper on the role of philanthropic foundations to support the Ocean Decade in UN processes.
  • Development of guidance and tools for Decade Actions on effective strategic communication of ocean science as a key outcome of a proposed Ocean Communications Symposium.
  • Development of best practices and standards for investing in ocean science and creating incentives for collaboration amongst philanthropic organizations.
  • Development of relevant knowledge products including related to legal and financial sustainability of MPAs and ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus.

 

Download the full PDF here (1 MB)