The rich bounties of the world’s seas and oceans remain the common heritage of mankind, thus it is a most singular honour that Jamaica has been tapped to host the historic 13th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) 2029 in Montego Bay, St James.

Accepting that noble task on behalf of the Jamaican people fell to Minister of Water, Environment and Housing Mr Matthew Samuda at this year’s 11th iteration of the conference in Mombasa, Kenya.

The primary objective of the OOC is to track, fund, and execute voluntary commitments through financial investments, concrete policy changes, research/monitoring initiatives, and capacity-building programmes to protect the oceans.

It will no doubt stir memories of the historic signing of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in Montego Bay in 1982, followed by Jamaica hosting the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority at the conference centre in downtown Kingston.

The OOC, although no less important, is less known in Jamaica than the Law of the Sea Convention which is undergirded by the philosophy first articulated by Fiji’s Ambassador Arvid Pardo that the mineral wealth of the globe’s seas and oceans are is common heritage of mankind.

The conference in June 2029 will be the first to be held in the Caribbean, and will bring to Jamaica thousands of delegates.

Since it began in 2014, under the aegis of US Secretary of State Mr John Kerry, the OOC has mobilised over 3,000 commitments worth approximately US$169 billion. It convenes every year to exchange notes and share experiences, using the best science, offering unique perspectives, and demonstrating effective actions toward protecting and improving the health of the ocean.

Founded in 2014 by former US Secretary of State John Kerry, the OOC was created “to shift ocean policy from theoretical debate into tangible, actionable solutions”.

It serves as a premier, high-level forum that unites governments, the private sector, and NGOs to make concrete, voluntary commitments, leading so far to expansive marine protected areas (MPAs), action against marine plastic pollution, and the advancement of the accompanying High Seas Treaty.

The Jamaica Observer is pleased to note that the US — which is critical to the successful mining of the seabed resources — has been, at least publicly, more engaged with the objectives of the OOC than it has been with the UNCLOS.

The US actively participated in negotiating the Law of the Sea treaty but originally refused to sign it in 1982, citing objections over Part XI, which governed how the deep seabed was to be mined. However, following modifications to Part XI in 1994 the US signed the revised agreement — though it has never formally ratified it.

We expect that Jamaica will put its best foot forward to welcome delegates to the conference. Much work has to be done to make the country shipshape, but we have always shown that we are equal to the task. Minister Samuda hit the nail on the head in saying: “[This] is the acceptance of a responsibility to the world’s oceans, to future generations, and to the billions of people whose lives, livelihoods, food security, culture, and prosperity depend on a healthy marine environment.”

“We do not simply live beside the sea,” he added, “we are defined by it. It is our highway, our pantry, our climate regulator, our source of livelihoods, and a cornerstone of our national identity.”