Program Focus

The World Ocean Council develops programs to work on different specific topics at the core of Ocean Sustainable Development. Those programs focus on central issues and pressing realities which need cross-sectoral consideration. The WOC aims at fostering collaboration of industries around those topics to enable the development of solution-oriented groups.

The program focus of the World Ocean Council is organised according to the following structure:

  • Ocean Policy and Governance

    International ocean policy and governance developments can have significant impact on business operations in the ocean. Yet more often than not, such processes progress with little or no industry involvement. […]
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  • Marine Spatial Planning

    Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is developing rapidly in many areas, e.g. the EU, US and Australia. Engaging in effective decision-making through a MSP process is paramount for the Ocean Business […]
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  • Operational Environmental Issues

    Ocean use, whether economical or recreational, is increasing rapidly and along with it the potential for challenging environmental impacts. Such challenges are often cross sectoral and therefore create opportunities for […]
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  • Smart Ocean - Smart Industries

    Efforts to date have put instruments on “ships of opportunity” and yielded important data and experience, but these have been limited in numbers of vessels, areas covered and timespan due […]
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  • Emerging Issues

    With the increased use and exploration of our ocean, new issues, risks and opportunities are emerging that may have material impact on ocean industry operations. The WOC monitors and reports on […]
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