The GFCR at the 11th Our Ocean Conference
The 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC11) was held in Mombasa, Kenya, from 16-18 June 2026 under the theme Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future. The theme celebrates the living connection between people and the ocean. It reflects the heritage, cultures, and coastal communities shaped by the sea, and it calls for a shared commitment to secure a resilient, just, and thriving ocean for generations to come.
The ocean is our planet’s life support system, home to 80% of all life on Earth, a provider of food and livelihoods for billions, and a stabilizing force for the global climate. Yet it faces escalating threats from warming seas, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
OOC11 brought together over 6,000 delegates from at least 100 countries, including leaders from government, science, civil society, youth, and the private sector to accelerate ocean action and turn collective ambition into meaningful progress, with Kenya leading the way as host of the 2026 conference.
Representatives from the GFCR participated in the following events.
Time zone is EAT(UTC+03 00)
Designing Blue Finance for Poverty Reduction and Community Resilience
📅 16 June | 🕒 1600-1715 hrs | 📍 Manduguni, Side Event Block 2, Pride Inn, Paradise, Mombasa
This session looked at how blue finance can be designed to genuinely support coastal communities, reduce poverty, and build resilience. The panel of speakers underscored how the GFCR, represented by its partner Konservasi International, has successfully taken donor-funded programmes from pilot to scale and toward replicability, demonstrating tangible impacts for communities and livelihoods.
The high-level discussion, featuring Ruth Davis and Salvador Malheiro, became a candid and meaningful exchange, marked by the UK Minister stepping away from prepared remarks to address ‘crunchy’ questions, reinforcing the UK’s role as a leading donor and the importance of putting GFCR’s strongest outcomes forward.
Protecting Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs: From Political Commitment to Investable Action
📅 16 June | 🕒 1600-1715 hrs | 📍 Shimba, Side Event Block 2, Pride Inn, Paradise, Mombasa
The Coral Reef Resilience side event, delivered in partnership between GFCR and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), was very well attended, with the room at full capacity and a high-level commitment signing ceremony that saw more countries sign on.
The event was presided over by several GFCR Board Members, offering a valuable opportunity for them to see and hear first-hand the impactful work GFCR is delivering and its unique ability to convene partners across sectors. A dynamic, all-women GFCR panel brought together the banking sector and GFCR partners in a lively and engaging discussion on moving from pilot initiatives to scale, and the enabling factors and finance mechanisms needed to do so. The Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Astrid Bergmål, was a strong advocate for GFCR, and the session concluded with a call to action from Peter Thomson urging more donors to support GFCR’s work.
High-Level Plenary Session
📅 17 June | 🕒 time TBC | 📍 Pride Inn, Paradise, Mombasa
Sinikinesh Jimma, Chief of Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Branch at UNEP, delivered GFCR’s commitment to the High-Level Panel, highlighting progress made. To date, and through a blended finance model, GFCR has reached 50 per cent capitalisation of its catalytic donor target at $240 million USD, enabling it to deploy capital with increasing scale and confidence.
Women Ocean Guardians: Ocean Conservation and Sustainable Blue Economies through Women’s Leadership
📅 17 June | 🕒 1730-1900 hrs | 📍 Havana Beach Lawn, Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa, Mombasa
Led by coastal women, forming a multi-regional alliance to chart a new course for marine conservation and sustainable use targets. Participants joined distinguished state representatives, global visionaries and frontline leaders for the launch of the Africa & Latin America Regional Hubs, the presentation of The African Women Ocean Guardians Declaration, and a look at vital innovation between the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia & the Pacific.