Category: News

The Our Ocean Conference brought the world to Mombasa and produced billions of dollars in promises. But for Kenya’s Coast, the real story begins after the speeches, panels and official photos. For three days in June, Mombasa was not just a port city, a tourism gateway or the place travellers pass through on their way to Diani, Watamu, Kilifi or Lamu. It became the centre of a global conversation about the future of the ocean. The 11th Our Ocean Conference was held in Mombasa from 16 to 18 June 2026 under the theme “Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future.” It was the first time the conference was hosted on African soil, placing Kenya’s Coast and the wider Western Indian Ocean closer to the centre of global ocean policy. That mattered because the ocean is not an abstract subject here. In Mombasa, the sea is part of ordinary life. It is the ferry crossing at Likoni, the fishing boats leaving before sunrise, the port channel, the seafood on local menus, the mangroves along creeks and shorelines, the plastic that washes back after heavy rain, the beach clean-ups after busy weekends, the reefs, the tides, the landing sites, the tourism economy and the families whose income depends on the water. So the question after the conference is not only how many leaders attended or how large the pledges sounded. The more important question is what those promises will mean for the Coast. The preliminary commitments report says the Mombasa conference produced 320 commitments, mobilising about USD 6.4 billion across 104 countries and organisations. The commitments were grouped under six areas: ocean-climate action, marine pollution, marine protected areas, maritime security, sustainable blue economy and sustainable fisheries. The Our Ocean Conference is not new. It began in 2014, launched by the U.S. Department of State under then Secretary of State John Kerry, with the aim of pushing ocean discussions beyond speeches and into public commitments. That idea still shapes the conference. Countries, organisations, businesses and civil society groups are expected to come with specific commitments — what they will do, when they will do it and how much they will invest. Kerry reminded delegates in Mombasa that the conference was designed around action, not general statements. He said the point was for people to come forward with “what they will do and when and how much it will cost.” Over the years, the conference has moved from country to country and become one of the main global gatherings for ocean protection, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, climate resilience and the blue economy. Mombasa now sits inside that history. It was not just another host city. It was the first African host, and that gave the 2026 conference a different weight. For Kenya, the moment was not only about diplomacy. It placed an African coastal city, and the communities of the Western Indian Ocean, inside a global conversation that is often led by wealthier coastal nations. Kenya’s commitments The USD 6.4 billion announced in Mombasa was not all for Kenya. It includes commitments from governments, organisations and institutions around the world. But Kenya appears strongly throughout the preliminary report. As host country, the Government of Kenya made commitments across all six action areas. Taken together, the government commitments with stated financial values add up to just over USD 1 billion. Some commitments do not have a dollar figure attached, so it is more accurate to describe them as a set of commitments rather than money already sitting in project accounts. That distinction matters. A conference report is not the same as a completed project. It is a public list of promises. Some may move quickly. Some may take years. Some may change once implementation begins. Others may need pressure, tracking and public accountability before they are felt on the ground. Still, the Kenya commitments are important because many of them point directly to coastal places and coastal livelihoods: Mombasa and Lamu ports, Kwale’s seascapes, Shimoni, Vanga, Shela, Kilifi, Lamu Bay, mangroves, seagrass beds, fishing grounds and communities trying to earn from the ocean without exhausting it. Mangroves and seagrass moved to the centre of the conversation One of Kenya’s strongest commitments is around blue carbon, which refers to the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrass. Kenya committed to developing its first National Blue Carbon Framework. It also committed to restoring, protecting and managing 61,000 hectares of mangroves and 39,000 hectares of seagrass by 2030. The same section of the report includes commitments on climate research, shoreline protection, saltwater intrusion, food security, marine early warning systems and support for vulnerable coastal communities. On paper, that sounds technical. On the Coast, it is very practical. Mangroves hold shorelines together. They act as nurseries for fish. They support crab and fishery livelihoods. They help protect communities from erosion and storm pressure. In many places, they are also part of how people understand home. Seagrass is easier to miss because most people do not see it from the road or the beach. But it matters too. It supports marine life, helps stabilise nearshore ecosystems and provides feeding grounds for species such as sea turtles. If these commitments are done well, they could support areas such as Lamu, Kilifi, Mida Creek, Diani, Vanga and other parts of the Coast where mangroves and seagrass already matter to livelihoods and marine biodiversity. But restoration is not just planting and taking photos. The bigger issue is management. Who is involved? Who is trained? Who is paid? Who monitors the sites after the launch event? Are communities part of the design from the beginning, or are they brought in after the project has already been decided? That is the difference between a coastal project that lasts and one that only looks good in a report. Mombasa and Lamu ports are now part of the pollution test Marine pollution was another major area, and this is where Mombasa appears very clearly. Kenya committed to establishing five coastal circular economy