Announced by the President of the Republic of Palau, Tommy Remengesau, Jr. on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, the partnership will ensure Palau is well equipped to host the annual conference next year, which is set to be attended by more than 500 delegates from across the globe.

UNOPS support for the conference reaffirms its commitment to supporting progress on Sustainable Development Goal 14 – to conserve the world’s marine resources for sustainable development. 

“Around the world, communities depend on marine resources for their livelihoods – but the health of our ocean is in crisis. We need to act urgently – through innovation, collaboration and political will – to ensure the world’s ocean and seas are protected for future generations,” said UNOPS Executive Director, Grete Faremo. 

“UNOPS is proud to support Pacific Small Island Developing States such as Palau – which are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change – to help find the solutions needed to combat marine pollution and mitigate the impacts of rising sea levels and extreme weather events,” she added. 

UNOPS will help design, renovate and construct key infrastructure for the 2020 Our Ocean conference, in addition to providing a range of project management, procurement and financial management services.

The Our Ocean conference brings together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and research institutions to commit to actions that will improve the health and sustainability of the world’s ocean.

The 2019 Our Ocean conference is taking place in October 2019, in Oslo, Norway.