The Space4Ocean (S4O) Alliance, initiated by CNES, is an action-oriented international coalition that brings together the space sector with marine and maritime stakeholders to strengthen efforts to preserve, conserve and protect the world's oceans, particularly for the benefit of coastal and island communities most affected by climate change and increasing human pressures.

The Alliance was officially launched at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held in Nice in 2025.

Key milestones

• Monday, 9 June – Nice (OCA): Towards the Space4Ocean Alliance – Official Declaration of Interest Signing Ceremony by Alliance members in the presence of distinguished guests
• Friday, June 13 in Nice (UNOC): One Earth, One Ocean: Building a Space4Ocean Alliance - Official announcement of the launch of the Alliance; presentation of the signed declaration to Peter Thomson, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Ocean

Project in brief

The Space4Ocean Alliance aims to connect stakeholders developing operational services based on space data, in situ observations and advanced numerical models with the communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and increasing human pressures on the ocean and coastal areas. By fostering these connections, the Alliance helps address major challenges while contributing to international policy frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 14.

The Alliance's objectives:

• Strengthen collaboration between the space and marine/maritime communities, as well as other stakeholders addressing the impacts of climate change and increasing human pressures, to effectively respond to priorities and needs in ocean and coastal management.
• Address gaps in Earth observation and the use of satellite oceanography data through innovative space missions and applications.
• Strengthen capacity by promoting best practices, expanding access to Earth observation data, supporting training initiatives, and placing particular emphasis on capacity building in the most vulnerable countries, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• Support the development of local, regional and global evidence-based ocean indicators on the state and health of the marine environment to inform decision-making and policymaking.
• Support and promote the delivery of operational services addressing the most critical ocean challenges:
  • Marine biodiversity protection: Enhance the monitoring of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and develop tools to support the management of coastal ecosystems under increasing human pressure.
  • Impacts of climate change on coastal areas: Monitor and assess the impacts of sea-level rise and extreme events on shoreline evolution and coastal zones.
  • Sustainable blue economy: Promote sustainable practices in fisheries and aquaculture while combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
  • Pollution prevention and mitigation: Detect and mitigate marine and coastal pollution, whether of anthropogenic or natural origin.

CNES's role

CNES initiated the creation of the Space4Ocean Alliance. It served as the Alliance's Secretariat during its first year before handing over this responsibility to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). As a founding member, CNES also plays a central role within the Alliance by coordinating activities between the space and marine/maritime communities and leading working groups that are essential to the Alliance's operations. It contributes its expertise and satellite data to support the sustainable management of the ocean. CNES also promotes downstream industry stakeholders supported through the Connect by CNES programme, which develop operational services that can be deployed to meet the needs of the Alliance's target end users.

Contact

Jean-Marc Delvit
jean-marc.delvit at cnes.fr