The Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI), a capacity-building programme coordinated by the CBD Secretariat, celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 2020, reflecting on numerous achievements in building improved capacity to achieve global ocean goals, as highlighted in the 10 year SOI Impact Study (https://www.cbd.int/marine/soi/booklet-soi-10years-en.pdf).

Through activities such as the SOI Global Dialogue with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fishery Bodies, regional and national capacity building workshops and training of trainers, SOI has worked to provide a holistic and strategic framework through which to catalyze partnerships, build on lessons learned and knowledge gained, and facilitate improved coordination to address the capacity needed for achieving global, regional and national objectives for the ocean.

The heightened ambition of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework calls for expanded and accelerated action for conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. This makes the work of SOI even more urgent, as achieving the goals of the post-2020 framework will require robust capacity for implementation.

This side-event will provide a key opportunity to reflect on the history and achievements of SOI, consider what the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will mean for ocean-related capacity building and highlight potential future directions for SOI.