United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs

Space4Ocean

The ocean plays a fundamental role in sustaining life on Earth. It regulates the climate, supports biodiversity, and provides critical ecosystem services that underpin livelihoods and economies. However, ocean health is deteriorating under growing pressure from both human activity and natural forces.

Space-based technologies offer vital capabilities to address these challenges. Satellite data enables large-scale, real-time monitoring of ocean health, including temperature fluctuations, sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean currents, pollution, and biodiversity. Currently, more than 80% of ocean-related indicators tracked by the IPCC rely on satellite observations. However, significant barriers remain to turning this data into operational, policy-relevant solutions, especially for countries most vulnerable to oceanic change.

The issue is especially acute in developing and frontline countries, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which often lack the resources and capacity to fully benefit from space-based solutions.

These challenges include fragmented data collection, lack of standardization across agencies, and insufficient interoperability between marine and space science communities. Many space agencies operate in isolation, limiting synergies and duplicating efforts. Meanwhile, frontline nations such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) often lack access to space-based data and the technical capacities needed to leverage it.

UNOOSA, through its Space4Water project and the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), connects ocean-related challenges with practical space-based solutions. By building the capacities of UN Member States, UNOOSA empowers stakeholders to harness satellite data and space technologies for informed decision-making and sustainable water and ocean management.

UN-Oceans Mechanism

UN-Oceans is an inter-agency mechanism established in 2003 that seeks to enhance the coordination, coherence and effectiveness of competent organizations of the United Nations system and the International Seabed Authority in relation to activities relating to oceans and coastal areas, within existing resources, in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the respective competences of each of its participating organizations and the mandates and priorities approved by their respective governing bodies. More info

UNOOSA is a member of the UN-Oceans Mechanism since 2025. 

The Space4Ocean Alliance

UNOOSA supports the creation and operationalisation of the Space4Ocean Alliance - an international consultation mechanism for expert-level and high-level exchanges that connects the space sector and the marine, maritime stakeholders, to leverage the full potential of space data for the preservation, conservation and protection of the ocean.

Initially proposed by the French Space Agency (CNES), the Space4Ocean Alliance aims to:

• Connect the space sector, marine, maritime and other relevant stakeholders,
• Better respond to needs and priorities for an improved management of the ocean and coastal areas;
• Advocate for implementation of innovative space missions to fill observation gaps;
• Share good practices, promote access to ocean observations (e.g. satellite or in-situ data, models and their joint use), propose proven operational applications and strengthen the underpinning ocean science for the development of tailored services;
• Develop capacity building actions and training initiatives for the benefit of ocean stakeholders both in terms of data access and operational services, especially in frontline countries such as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS);
• Inform the state and health of the marine environment through the development of local and global ocean indicators to be considered by appropriate organizations and to be used by decision makers.

As a founding member of this initiative, UNOOSA has been working since December 2024 with the French Space Agency (CNES), the Maldives Space Research Organization (MSRO), the Space Office of the Principality of Monaco, the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO/IOC) to define the objectives and mandate of the Space4Ocean Alliance according to the needs of those who need it the most, particularly frontline countries.

The Space4Ocean Alliance was officially launched at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in June 2025 during a dedicated side event organized by UNOOSA. This high-level side event gathered signatory ministers and heads of space agencies and culminated in the official handover of the signed Declaration of Interest to M. Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Ocean, which sealed the official kick-off of the Alliance. Read more

So far, 28 entities have signed the Declaration of Interest and joined the Alliance:

Grounded in science and leveraging space data, in-situ measurements, and advanced digital models, the Alliance will address critical ocean and coastal challenges, directly contributing to SDG 14, and supporting the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.