IMPACT REPORT 2020 Contents 1. A Letter from our President 3 2. 30x30 4 a. Governance 4 b. On-The-Water Change 5 i. Antarctica2020 5 ii. Caribbean 7 iii. South Africa 8 iv. Maldives 9 c. #LOVE30x30: Awareness Raising and Communications 10 4. Ocean Unite Network 11 5. Ocean Unite Alliances Driving Positive Ocean Action 12 a. RISE UP 12 b. Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) 13 6. Organizational Highlights 15 7. Our Funders 16 2 Ocean Unite 2020 Report Dear Friends of the Ocean: Ocean Unite continues to be a movement accelerator, engaging, activating, innovating change and accelerating When I wrote this letter to you last year, we were in eager investment to build Ocean health and resilience. Since our anticipation of the “Ocean super-year” we expected for 2020. founding in 2015, our reputation as a unifying force for good I described the steps we had taken at Ocean Unite to set with a focus on the Ocean rather than our brand has allowed up our organization and orient our program to positively us to achieve an incredible amount of on-the-water impact, influence decisions at a series of key global political meetings including helping to strongly protect over 5 million km2 of on a new High Seas Treaty, Antarctic marine protection, Ocean around the globe, and bringing the broader Ocean deep-sea mining, and setting the agenda and goals on nature community together around 30x30 and RISE UP, which is now protection for the next ten years at the UN Convention on the largest-ever cross-collaboration network of organizations Biological Diversity (CBD) 15th Conference of the Parties working in the Ocean space with a common prescription for (CoP15) in China, in October 2020. Ocean health. We have also developed and strengthened civil society, private and public sector partnerships through the But instead, 2020 went in a direction we could not have Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, a pioneering effort predicted. The Covid-19 pandemic had, and continues to to drive investment into finance and insurance products that have, a devastating impact on the global community. The build resilience to counter Ocean risk for the most vulnerable. events of the Ocean super-year, expected to be pivotal steps to expand efforts in the fight against climate change Key achievements in 2020 include: and the destruction of ecosystems, were either postponed, • Supporting Antarctic Champion Lewis Pugh’s Antarctic swim held virtually on a smaller scale, or cancelled altogether. In and advocacy in Russia. the U.S. and many places around the world, the Covid-19 • Securing political support at the highest level for Southern pandemic was coupled with the intense #BlackLivesMatter Ocean protection by France, Germany and the European Union. demonstrations, a reckoning for many about social, economic • Advancing efforts to formally secure a commitment to 30x30 in and environmental justice, and an election like no other in the British Virgin Islands. this country. The longer term global economic fallout of the • Organizing, sponsoring and participating in a Caribbean pandemic has yet to be determined. ministerial gathering on Ocean policy. When the time comes for us to again meet safely in person, it • Helping to launch the Maldives Coral Institute, to help coral will be with a very different perspective, but for Ocean Unite, reefs to survive and adapt to climate change. our priorities remain clear. • Helping to launch “Shark Attack”, a campaign to protect sharks in South Africa. The Ocean Unite team has always rowed together; this year • Signing on more than 400 organizations to the RISE UP agenda more so than ever before. We have been able to navigate for Ocean health. through postponed policy decisions, cancelled travel, illness, • Building out the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, lost funding, and incredible uncertainty, while also laying the securing new members and being selected as a Paris Peace groundwork for what will hopefully be an impactful 2021. Forum showcase project. • Launching the Ocean Risk and Resilience innovation challenge In 2018, when we wrote our business plan to become a non- to build the project pipeline for sustainable financing products. profit organization independent from our incubator at Virgin Unite, we established our mission and vision: I am pleased to share with you this report on our 2020 achievements. We look forward to seeing you on the hopefully To secure Ocean health, it is critical to reduce CO2 emissions calmer seas of 2021 – where Ocean and climate issues become as quickly as possible while strongly protecting the much more integrated; biodiversity, climate, resilience and scientifically recommended target of at least 30% of the financing become a focus for decision makers; and our program Ocean by 2030 (30x30) to regenerate Ocean life, build areas and alliances help to build the wave of change our blue resilience to change and reduce Ocean risk. planet so sorely needs. In putting together this report, it is gratifying to see that Thank you for your continued commitment and support. despite many of our plans needing to be rethought several times this year, we were able to remain true to our mission and vision, and advance the 30x30 call to action. Karen Sack President & CEO Ocean Unite 2020 Report 3 30x30 is the call to action to safeguard at least 30% of the Due to Covid-19, both the 4th intergovernmental conference to Ocean – the minimum level recommended by science – finalize a new UN High Seas agreement and the CBD CoP15 to through a network of highly protected marine areas. It has negotiate a new Global Deal for Nature have been postponed been demonstrated that high level diplomatic and influencer until later in 2021. Despite these changes, Ocean Unite has efforts, Ocean Unite’s calling card, are critical to achieve action continued to actively coordinate with the coalition of NGOs by governments. working on 30x30 and the High Seas. Goal: Secure highly protected status for at least 30% of the Ocean by 2030. Objectives: • Securing a new legally binding United Nations High Seas biodiversity treaty. • Adoption of 30x30 as an international target at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). • Protecting a further 4 million km2 of the Southern Ocean by the end of 2020. • Building 30x30 champions by accelerating marine protections in the Caribbean, South Africa and the Maldives. José María Figueres and Sir Richard Branson at the Paris Peace Forum virtual event. • Raising awareness through public communications on the importance and urgency of 30x30 (#Love30x30). Ocean Unite supported the High Seas Alliance as a scale- up project of the Paris Peace Forum – an annual event to All of Ocean Unite’s work is focused on delivering the science- focus on multilateral solutions to critical global issues. Ocean based 30x30 target and building Ocean resilience on a global Unite supported the organization of a high-level panel on scale. Despite Covid-19, the year still afforded multiple November 12, 2020 with Ocean Unite Network members José opportunities to advance against the 30x30 target. María Figueres (as moderator), Sir Richard Branson, and EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius, joined by French Minister 2020 HIGHLIGHTS for the Sea Annick Girardin, and the Chair of the High Seas negotiating process, Singaporean Ambassador Rena Lee. It was • Paris Peace Forum engagement and high-level panel. an excellent opportunity for government and business leaders • José María Figueres participant in Global Steering to exchange views on what is needed to successfully get the Committee for the Campaign for Nature. negotiations over the finish line in 2021. As a follow-up to the • Close coordination with 30x30 NGO alliance. meeting, Sir Richard published a blog highlighting the importance of a strong treaty and the need to protect the High Seas. Ocean Unite co-founder José María Figueres joined the Global Governance Steering Committee for the Campaign for Nature, a group Securing a new legally binding UN High Seas biodiversity treaty of former political leaders advocating for 30x30. The group and adoption of 30x30 as an international target at the CBD. released a statement in June urging that recovery from the global crisis requires investment in nature. Looking ahead to 2021, Ocean Unite will: • Continue to work closely with the High Seas Alliance to support the successful development of the treaty, including activating our high-level Network champions to use their voices at key moments. • Continue to work with the 30x30 Ocean Alliance and Campaign for Nature to identify key strategic interventions that Ocean Unite can carry out to support the adoption of this target at the CBD, including on the resource mobilization (financing) issue. • Through our on-the-water work in the Caribbean and elsewhere, build further government champions that Vipin Kumar/Unsplash support a robust High Seas treaty and 30x30 at the CBD. 4 Ocean Unite 2020 Report On-The-Water Change Progressing to the 30x30 target in the but key marine areas are still under threat. Working with our partners The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Antarctic and Antarctic, the Caribbean, South Africa Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), the group is campaigning for and the Maldives the establishment of three new large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) in the East Antarctic, Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula. Together this will deliver the largest act of Ocean Antarctica2020 protection in history, protecting a further almost 4 million km2, which is 1% of the global Ocean, taking total protection of the Objective: Using the high-level influence of the Antarctica2020 region’s waters to way over 7 million km2. (A2020) group to increase the total amount of protection of the 2 Southern Ocean to over 7 million km by 2020. Decisions on marine protections in the Southern Ocean require a consensus decision at the regional management 2020 HIGHLIGHTS organization.