We must protect the ocean because the ocean is protecting us

#LetsBeNicetotheOcean

We must protect the ocean
because the ocean is protecting us

#LetsBeNice
totheOcean

Welcome to Let's Be Nice to the Ocean

Welcome to Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean, an initiative coordinated by The Varda Group in cooperation with the Ocean & Climate Platform and in partnership with TBA21-Academy, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, the Tara Ocean Foundation, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, MedPAN and Ocean Born Foundation.

The French and Costa Rican co-presidency of the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (Nice, France, 9-13 June 2025) has mandated the Varda Group and the Ocean & Climate Platform to co-facilitate the input and participation of civil society in Nice. This is a participatory process for all ocean voices: #BeNiceToTheOcean and make your voice be heard in Nice!

Let's Be Nice to the Ocean

Read the Let's be Nice to the Ocean initiative in a nutshell, written by Varda Group Director Rémi Parmentier, and published by the International Institute on Sustainable Development in November 2023. The "Protection Principle" explained in a few words.

sylvia-earle-nice-ocean

Dr Sylvia Earle, Founding President, Mission Blue Explorer-at-Large of the National Geographic Society

ambassador-olivier-poivre-darvor

Ambassador Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Special Envoy of President Macron for the 3rd UN Ocean Conference, in his foreword to Let’s be Nice to the Ocean

ambassador-gina-guillen-grillo

Ambassador Gina Guillén-Grillo, Director General of Foreign Policy, Costa Rica

Share your Thinking Outside the Box

Embark on the journey to Nice with us! Following the release of Let’s be Nice to the Ocean in November 2023 on the website of the  Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, born from the dynamic dialogues initiated prior to the 2nd UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2022, we're extending an open invitation to all ocean voices.

We invite you to consider a collective shift in perspective for our Ocean. Share your vision and proposals on our platform, and join us to challenge the status quo!

“Participants cannot leave Nice with the impression that they’ve been hearing -- and that they sang! – the same old tune. If we want people to listen and take action, if we want governments to be accountable, it is time to change the tune, and increase the volume.”

Rémi Parmentier

Director, The Varda Group

“It’s about time we radically shake things up if we are to protect our life supporting system, the Ocean. Don’t be fooled, 'let’s be Nice' is not about being passive nor naive - quite the contrary. It’s about being bold and brave to reinvent management, governance or finance, to create the tools we need for meaningful change, and to be the architects of the world we want. So, get on board!”

Loreley Picourt

Executive Director, The Ocean & Climate Platform

"It's time for our actions to be louder than the waves, as we urgently need to embrace our common responsibility to safeguard the ocean. Today more than ever we have the capacity, science and technology to create a paradigm shift for ocean protection. As the ocean and climate are inseparably linked, resolving the ocean-climate crisis means securing the future of our society. UNOC2025 needs to demonstrate that commitments are followed by bold actions. Ambition is not just a NICE word!"

Dona Bertarelli

“Let's be Nice, let's be bold, and let's make commitments and take decisions with the political vision to enact what has become urgent and necessary. The immensity and complexity of the Ocean has sadly become a license to exploit and abuse it without putting measures in place to  ensure her future wellbeing. Great progress has been made but difficult decisions need to be made. I have faith in President Macron and President Chavez Robles not to allow another great opportunity to slip by, when we can instead galvanise the expertise and the political will necessary to embolden everyone from the artisanal fishermen to the extractive industries to respect the laws of the sea, which ensure her and therefore our own survival.”

Francesca Thyssen Bornemisza

President TBA21 Contemporary Art Academy

"In this decade that is so important for the Ocean, we need to go beyond the messages and objectives that have already been announced for several years. Thinking about the Ocean beyond 2030 requires us to come up with new, ambitious ideas, which may seem utopian today but which will be absolutely necessary in the face of the scale of the global crisis if we are serious about it!”

Romain Troublé

CEO, The Tara Ocean Foundation

“Witnessing the rapid changes in our Mediterranean Sea and in the Ocean, MedPAN is glad to be a partner of the Let’s be Nice to the Ocean initiative and to be part of its community. Working on enhancing the international cooperation across the seas with the launch of a Blue Belt to protect our ocean, that will embody the urgent need to join forces and to celebrate a global community of MPA managers networks and marine conservation stakeholders, we look forward the Third UN Ocean Conference. So, let’s be altogether Nice to the Ocean!“

Purificació Canals

President, MedPAN

"Hosting the publication of Let's be Nice to the Ocean on our website is consistent with one of the key functions of the Prince Albert II Foundation consisting in encouraging environmental and ocean advocates to explore and incubate new ideas and new targets for action. As a key partner and a neighbour of the Nice Conference, we look forward to the conversation triggered by the Let's be Nice to the Ocean initiative."

Olivier Wenden

Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

“UNOC25 must galvanize us all to bring everything we have to the table, to save the blue heart of our planet. We need to prepare with unwavering determination. We need to set the bar high, engage and activate our respective communities. We need to decisively demand the most ambitious environmental standards from our governments. All we love is on this planet. Let’s make sure we protect it - together."

Carolina Manhusen Schwab

President & Co-founder, Ocean Born Foundation

“Participants cannot leave Nice with the impression that they’ve been hearing -- and that they sang! – the same old tune. If we want people to listen and take action, if we want governments to be accountable, it is time to change the tune, and increase the volume.”

Rémi Parmentier

Director, The Varda Group

“It’s about time we radically shake things up if we are to protect our life supporting system, the Ocean. Don’t be fooled, 'let’s be Nice' is not about being passive nor naive - quite the contrary. It’s about being bold and brave to reinvent management, governance or finance, to create the tools we need for meaningful change, and to be the architects of the world we want. So, get on board!”

Loreley Picourt

Executive Director, The Ocean & Climate Platform.

"It's time for our actions to be louder than the waves, as we urgently need to embrace our common responsibility to safeguard the ocean. Today more than ever we have the capacity, science and technology to create a paradigm shift for ocean protection. As the ocean and climate are inseparably linked, resolving the ocean-climate crisis means securing the future of our society. UNOC2025 needs to demonstrate that commitments are followed by bold actions. Ambition is not just a NICE word!"

Dona Bertarelli

“Let's be Nice, let's be bold, and let's make commitments and take decisions with the political vision to enact what has become urgent and necessary. The immensity and complexity of the Ocean has sadly become a license to exploit and abuse it without putting measures in place to  ensure her future wellbeing. Great progress has been made but difficult decisions need to be made. I have faith in President Macron and President Chavez Robles not to allow another great opportunity to slip by, when we can instead galvanise the expertise and the political will necessary to embolden everyone from the artisanal fishermen to the extractive industries to respect the laws of the sea, which ensure her and therefore our own survival.”

Francesca Thyssen Bornemisza

President TBA21 Contemporary Art Academy

"In this decade that is so important for the Ocean, we need to go beyond the messages and objectives that have already been announced for several years. Thinking about the Ocean beyond 2030 requires us to come up with new, ambitious ideas, which may seem utopian today but which will be absolutely necessary in the face of the scale of the global crisis if we are serious about it!”

Romain Troublé

CEO, The Tara Ocean Foundation

“Witnessing the rapid changes in our Mediterranean Sea and in the Ocean, MedPAN is glad to be a partner of the Let’s be Nice to the Ocean initiative and to be part of its community. Working on enhancing the international cooperation across the seas with the launch of a Blue Belt to protect our ocean, that will embody the urgent need to join forces and to celebrate a global community of MPA managers networks and marine conservation stakeholders, we look forward the Third UN Ocean Conference. So, let’s be altogether Nice to the Ocean!“

Purificació Canals

President, MedPAN

"Hosting the publication of Let's be Nice to the Ocean on our website is consistent with one of the key functions of the Prince Albert II Foundation consisting in encouraging environmental and ocean advocates to explore and incubate new ideas and new targets for action. As a key partner and a neighbour of the Nice Conference, we look forward to the conversation triggered by the Let's be Nice to the Ocean initiative."

Olivier Wenden

Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

“UNOC25 must galvanize us all to bring everything we have to the table, to save the blue heart of our planet. We need to prepare with unwavering determination. We need to set the bar high, engage and activate our respective communities. We need to decisively demand the most ambitious environmental standards from our governments. All we love is on this planet. Let’s make sure we protect it - together."

Carolina Manhusen Schwab

President & Co-founder, Ocean Born Foundation

Our Partners

An initiative coordinated by The Varda Group

Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean is an initiative coordinated by The Varda Group in cooperation with the Ocean & Climate Platform and in partnership with TBA21-Academy, Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy, the Tara Ocean Foundation, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, MedPAN and Ocean Born Foundation.

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