Media Advisory 

United Nations to launch third World Ocean Assessment

Press briefing live on UN WebTV

The report is under embargo until 8 June 2026, 12:45 pm EDT and available upon request

The third World Ocean Assessment, to be released on 8 June 2026, offers the latest insights into the health of our ocean, and helps us to better understand the drivers, interactions, and long‑term consequences of these changes.

The ocean is under severe and accelerating anthropogenic pressure, from the surface to the deep sea, driven by climate change, pollution and increased human activities. These pressures are often cumulative, combining to cause widespread biodiversity loss, undermining the ecosystems that support fisheries, coastal protection and human health.

This report reflects the collective work of almost 600 experts from 86 countries, and it is the only global integrated assessment on the state of the marine environment, which explores the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of the ocean.

WHAT

Press briefing to launch the third World Ocean Assessment

WHO

• Mr. Steven Hill, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
• Ms. Bahia Tahzib, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York and Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process 
• Rafael González-Quirós, Director of the Oceanographic Centre of Gijón and Joint Coordinator of the Group of Experts of the third cycle of the UN Regular Process
• Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Oceanographic Explorer. Environmental Advocate and Founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center 

WHEN

Monday, 8 June 2026, 12:45 pm EDT 

WHERE              

UN Press Briefing Room, S-237 (Live on http://webtv.un.org)

The report will be available on 8 June 2026, 12:45 pm EDT at https://www.un.org/regularprocess/woa3 once the embargo has been lifted.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Martin Samaan, UN Department of Global Communications, [email protected]

Laura Carew, Office of Legal Affairs, [email protected]

An embargoed copy of the third World Ocean Assessment can be provided upon request:
Ms. Laura Carew, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea, [email protected] 

EXPERT INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES

• English: Mr. Ian Butler (Australia) – GOE member [email protected]
• French: Ms. Youna Lyons (France) – Coordinating Author of Section 3: A global overview of ocean governance [email protected]
• Spanish: Ms. Mariamalia Rodriguez Chaves (Costa Rica) – GOE member [email protected]
• Chinese: Ms. Juying Wang (China) – GOE member [email protected]
• Arabic: Mr. Mehdi Ghodrati Shojaei (Iran) – GOE member [email protected]
• Russian: Mr. Vasily Smolyanitsky (Russia) – GOE member [email protected]
• Portuguese: Ms. Maria João Bebianno (Portugal) – GOE member [email protected]
• Kiswahili: Mr. Eric Okuku (Kenya) – GOE member [email protected]
• Hindi: Mr. Punyasloke Bhadury (India) – Coordinating Author of Sub-chapter 5h: Mangroves [email protected]
• Urdu: Ms. Samina Kidwai (Pakistan) – Writing Team member for Chapter 2: Scientific understanding [email protected]