This month, countries are gathering at the U.N. Biodiversity Conference (known as CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, to evaluate progress on implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Adopted in 2022, the framework sets out 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, alongside a longer-term vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.The first global progress report, published earlier this month ahead of the conference, found that while countries have made a strong start on incorporating the framework’s goals in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), they are not yet on track to meet its 2030 targets. Notably, the State of Biodiversity Action report — a key input to the review taking place at COP17 — identified significant gaps in progress in marine, coastal and inland-water ecosystems, highlighting the need to scale and accelerate implementation efforts.With the end of the decade fast approaching, the focus has shifted from setting goals to evaluating progress and implementing solutions at the scale and speed needed, backed by adequate financing. To meet the framework’s targets, governments must address how to balance biodiversity protection with ocean activities such as fishing, aquaculture, shipping, tourism, coastal development and offshore energy production. They must also address threats to the ocean like pollution and overfishing, and take into account the impacts of climate change, including ocean warming and acidification. Ocean-related priorities must then be translated into coordinated decisions across ministries, regulatory bodies, local governments and industries to advance national biodiversity goals.While NBSAPs are the primary instruments countries can use to implement the GBF, Sustainable Ocean Plans (SOPs) are tools that can help governments implement these national biodiversity commitments in marine and coastal areas. SOPs are comprehensive, overarching frameworks that help countries sustainably manage 100% of the ocean areas under their national jurisdiction. SOPs are tailored to each country’s circumstances and are guided by nine key attributes — ranging from the characteristics of a specific location to the people included in the process. By integrating biodiversity protection with the sustainable use of ocean resources, SOPs can help countries implement their NBSAPs.The new report recognizes this potential, highlighting the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy’s (Ocean Panel) commitment to developing SOPs. This places SOPs within the emerging delivery architecture for the GBF and signals that SOPs are gaining momentum as a key tool for countries to achieve their biodiversity goals.The challenge now is to turn this recognition into delivery. Aligning the two frameworks can help turn global biodiversity commitments into coherent, investable and measurable ocean action in five ways. 1) Ensure Biodiversity-Inclusive Planning and ManagementTarget 1 of the Global Biodiversity Framework calls for all areas to be under participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning or other effective management processes. Yet the global report finds that marine planning is still far from comprehensive, with only 45 countries or territories having approved national, subnational or local plans for marine and coastal areas by the end of 2023. It also highlights less progress in coastal and marine areas than on land.SOPs can help countries meet this target by providing the overarching framework for connecting marine spatial planning and other place-based management tools with national economic and sectoral priorities. They can help governments identify areas where activities are compatible, where cumulative impacts need to be reduced and where ecosystems require restoration, stronger protection or limits on particular activities. They incorporate the views of all stakeholders, ensuring that government ministries, private sector representatives, Indigenous and local groups and others can influence management processes and help amend these as circumstances change.2) Connect Protection with Ecosystem Restoration and ResilienceTarget 3, widely known as ‘30 by 30,’ has garnered widespread recognition and support. It calls for 30% of ecologically representative and connected areas to be effectively and equitably governed, with respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. While bringing 30% of terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine areas under effective conservation will be difficult in its own right, protecting biodiversity will also require sustainable management of the remaining 70% of areas. This is particularly important in the ocean, where interconnected ecosystems and pressures that cross boundaries mean protecting biodiversity depends on action beyond protected areas.Complementing this, Target 2 calls for at least 30% of degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems to be under effective restoration by 2030. To fully achieve this, countries will need to prioritize the protection of intact ecosystems, address the drivers of degradation and target restoration where it is ecologically appropriate — and hence most likely to be effective — and socially equitable.SOPs can help countries deliver on both targets. By aligning conservation, restoration and sustainable productive use across sectors and ministries, SOPs can help identify priority areas for protection and restoration, reduce pressures and integrate nature-based solutions into broader ocean planning while avoiding duplicative and siloed efforts. They can also connect restoration efforts with long-term governance, monitoring and financing, strengthening ecosystems’ resilience to climate change while supporting coastal protection, food security and livelihoods.3) Transform Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Use of Marine SpeciesThe GBF recognizes that halting biodiversity loss requires transforming how species are harvested and how productive sectors are managed.Target 5 calls for ensuring that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species are sustainable, safe and legal. Target 10 calls for fisheries and aquaculture, among other industries, to be managed sustainably through biodiversity-friendly practices. SOPs can help ensure these commitments are considered alongside fisheries policies, aquaculture development plans, marine spatial planning, enforcement systems, trade measures and coastal livelihood strategies. They can encourage governments to consider not only individual stocks or farms, but also habitat conditions, bycatch, illegal fishing, cumulative ecosystem impacts and the social and economic needs of fishing communities. This integration is essential to protect biodiversity while also producing food. Healthy ecosystems underpin productive fisheries and resilient aquaculture, while well-managed fisheries and appropriately sited, environmentally responsible aquaculture can provide food, support employment and drive economic development.4) Address the Drivers of Biodiversity Loss Across the Ocean EconomyMarine biodiversity can be harmed by nutrient runoff, plastic pollution, coastal infrastructure and the impacts of shipping, tourism and energy development. Addressing these challenges requires action beyond the conservation sector and greater consideration of biodiversity impacts in decisions affecting the ocean economy.Target 7 of the GBF calls for reducing pollution risks and the negative impacts of pollution from all sources to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity by 2030. Relatedly, Target 14 calls for the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values — which support economies, food production systems, secure living conditions and human health — into policies, regulations, planning and development processes across all sectors. SOPs can help bring together the ministries and sectors that influence ocean health. They can help identify and address pollution sources, incorporate biodiversity considerations into development decisions and align public and private investments with national biodiversity priorities. Through integrated planning, strategic environmental assessments and cumulative-impact analysis, SOPs can help governments move beyond fragmented interventions toward coordinated action that reduces pressures on marine ecosystems and embeds biodiversity in ocean governance and economic development. Proposed developments can then be assessed against national biodiversity targets and a shared ocean vision. 5) Build an Equitable and Investable Delivery FrameworkAlthough NBSAPs are intended to guide implementation, recent assessments find that many still need stronger delivery pathways and links to investment planning. SOPs can help countries determine how best to finance different biodiversity priorities — whether through public expenditure, international support, community finance or appropriate private investment — while setting environmental and social safeguards for each. A credible SOP can give governments, development banks and investors a clearer picture of national priorities, enabling conditions, safeguards and institutional responsibilities. This can support Target 19, which calls for substantially increasing financial resources for biodiversity, including through domestic expenditure, international finance, private finance and blended-finance approaches. But effective implementation also depends on knowledge, participation and rights. Target 21 calls for the best available data, information and knowledge, including traditional knowledge, to be accessible to decision-makers and the public. Target 22 similarly calls for the full, equitable and inclusive participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in biodiversity-related decision-making, as well as respect for their rights over lands, territories, resources and traditional knowledge.A high-quality SOP process can create mechanisms for appropriately bringing together scientific, Indigenous, traditional, local and industry knowledge. SOPs can help ensure that meaningful participation across these groups begins while priorities are being defined and that the use of Indigenous and traditional knowledge respects the rights of knowledge holders.From Commitments to ActionThe urgency for countries to move from commitments to implementation is mounting. Countries can connect SOPs and NBSAPs through shared data and indicators, coordinated implementation responsibilities and monitoring that informs national biodiversity reporting. Building on existing processes can reduce duplication and help translate biodiversity targets into concrete action across ocean sectors.Some countries are already showing how integrated ocean governance can work. Ghana’s Sustainable Ocean Plan, published in 2025, establishes an overarching national framework organized around ocean wealth, health, knowledge, equity, finance and maritime security. Mexico is implementing its SOP through an interministerial process designed to coordinate ocean priorities across government. These approaches will vary by national context, but they demonstrate how a common framework can help bring otherwise fragmented policies and institutions together. Leaders at COP17 are emphasizing the urgent need to make progress toward biodiversity targets. For the ocean, where success means sustainable production and effective protections going hand in hand, governments must look beyond individual conservation projects and manage the entire seascape, including the economic activities, investments and institutions that determine its health. By aligning SOPs with national biodiversity plans, they can take a more coordinated approach to protecting marine ecosystems while supporting the communities and industries that depend on them.