Philippine Embassy Explores Cooperation with Oceano Azul Foundation on Advancing Marine Conservation

7 February 2025, Lisbon – The Philippine Embassy in Lisbon held a meeting with the Oceano Azul Foundation at the Oceanário de Lisboa on 7 February 2025 to discuss potential collaboration in the areas of marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, and ocean governance. This meeting aimed to build a closer partnership with the Foundation to further protect the Philippines' rich marine biodiversity and promote sustainable ocean practices, aligned with both local and global objectives for marine environment protection.

Philippine Ambassador Paul Raymund P. Cortes commended the Oceano Azul Foundation for its outstanding work in marine environment protection, particularly in the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and its efforts in sustainable fisheries management.

The Embassy expressed a strong interest to collaborate with Oceano Azul to address critical challenges facing the Philippines’ marine environment, particularly in line with its key areas of focus such as education, marine conservation, and ocean advocacy. Both sides emphasized the importance of 2025 as a critical year for advancing ocean protection efforts, with significant global milestones such as the forthcoming UN Ocean Conference in Nice.

During the meeting, the Embassy highlighted the Philippines’ maritime priorities for 2025 and presented its own maritime outreach initiatives, with one plan to commemorate the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month in September.

Moving forward, the Philippines and Oceano Azul will further explore coordination and cooperation on joint initiatives in research, community-based conservation programs, and the promotion of sustainable fisheries practices. The Philippine Embassy is confident that this partnership will contribute to enhancing the Philippines’ marine ecosystem protection and strengthening global efforts for ocean governance. END