Julian Barbiere, head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section at UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, said that coastal cities are pivotal decision-making hubs for ocean sustainability.

　　“Cities on the coast are very important centers of power to take action for the sustainable development of the ocean,“ said Barbiere, who is also the global coordinator of the UN Ocean Decade.

　　The Ocean Decade refers to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), a 10-year framework initiative to identify, generate and use critical ocean knowledge to manage the ocean sustainably.

　　Barbiere said that while the Ocean Decade has fostered extensive dialogue with national governments and the scientific community, engagement with coastal cities — key actors in ocean sustainability — has been insufficient.

　　To bridge this gap, the “Cities with the Ocean“ platform was launched at the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

　　The initiative aims to connect scientific communities with city leaders, providing tailored solutions to challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, biodiversity loss and ocean-linked economic development.

　　The platform initially included cities such as Qingdao, Barcelona of Spain, Auckland of New Zealand, Mombasa of Kenya and Nice of France.

　　During the Qingdao conference, it welcomed eight new members, including Xiamen, a coastal city of Southeast China's Fujian province.

　　Xiamen will collaborate with platform members to tackle global challenges like climate change and marine pollution, fostering harmonious development between humans and the ocean, said Wang Yu, director of Xiamen's marine development bureau.