President William Ruto has urged nations to strengthen their efforts to safeguard the oceans.
The Head of State cautioned that political pledges by themselves would not suffice to tackle the escalating environmental and economic dangers confronting marine ecosystems.
Addressing the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, which drew over 6,000 delegates from 56 countries, Ruto called on governments, development partners and private sector actors to speed up investment, innovation and collaboration to protect the world’s oceans.
Ruto said the international community must go beyond declarations and provide the resources required to carry out ocean conservation programmes.
He said commitments that are not matched by the means to fulfil them can never respond to the urgency or magnitude of the demands now placed on the ocean.
The President said countries need to cooperate in mobilising finance, adopting technology and improving governance structures to achieve tangible progress.
He said new and more ambitious approaches are needed to raise finance, apply technology and innovation, strengthen capacity and ensure existing ocean frameworks operate in harmony rather than in isolation.
Ruto observed that although the ocean has been vital in shielding humanity from the worst impacts of climate change, its ability to absorb environmental stress is now being pushed to the limit.
He said the ocean is confronting major, and in many ways unprecedented, challenges, having absorbed 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases and nearly a third of carbon dioxide emissions, thereby changing its own chemistry and physics to protect others.
However, he warned that the ocean can only take in so much, adding that it is now responding.
The Head of State cited rising sea levels, ocean acidification, more intense storms and widespread marine pollution as signs of the growing strain on marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
He said rising seas are forcing millions of people in low-lying coasts and islands to move, while acidifying waters are damaging the foundation of the marine food chain and the livelihoods that depend on it.
He added that marine pollution, especially plastic waste, has become a worldwide crisis affecting ecosystems from coastal waters to the deepest parts of the ocean.
According to Ruto, action on these challenges has been slowed by insufficient political commitment, limited funding, delayed technology uptake and divided governance systems.
He said the response has long been constrained by weak political will, inadequate finance, slow deployment of technology and innovation, limited capacity, and governance that is fragmented, poorly regulated and weakly enforced.
The President welcomed recent global milestones intended to reinforce ocean protection, including the implementation of the High Seas Treaty and the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
He said the agreements offer a crucial framework for preserving marine biodiversity and encouraging sustainable use of ocean resources.
Ruto also praised the pledges made during the conference, saying participants had recorded more than 300 new commitments worth about $6.4 billion.
He said delegates had registered over 300 new commitments with a combined value of about $6.4 billion, adding that Kenya alone had made 50 commitments valued at $1.1 billion to support its blue economy.
He said that, if fully implemented, the commitments would help expand marine protected areas, restore fisheries, cut pollution, improve maritime security and support sustainable blue economies.
Ruto said Kenya remains committed to a development model that balances conservation with economic growth through offshore renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, circular economies and inclusive Sustainable Ocean Plans.
He urged delegates to ensure the commitments announced in Mombasa become measurable action that safeguards marine ecosystems while creating opportunities for communities that rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.
He said the future of the ocean depends not on promises made today, but on what is delivered tomorrow, and called for shared responsibility in protecting the health and sustainability of the world’s oceans for future generations.