The Barcelona Manifesto, an initiative driven by Barcelona City Council and the Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (DCC-SOE), was presented as part of Tomorrow.Blue Economy. The manifesto has the support of 24 cities and 9 regions worldwide, including cities like Dakar, Marseille, New York, Vancouver, and Venice, as well as regions such as the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, the state of Rio de Janeiro, and the Azores.
The primary objective of this initiative is to position coastal resilience as a strategic priority in international urban, economic, and environmental agendas. The manifesto proposes a paradigm shift, viewing coastal resilience actions not only as a public necessity and responsibility but also as an opportunity to mobilize investment, generate long-term value, and drive new models of sustainable development.
The document highlights the need to develop new governance models and innovative financing mechanisms to attract private capital and complement public investment, aiming to strengthen the capacity of coastal cities and regions to face the effects of climate change and other environmental, social, and economic challenges.
The manifesto will remain open for new adhesions until the Ocean Decade Conference, scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro in April 2027. In the coming months, Barcelona City Council and the DCC-SOE will continue to promote the initiative's expansion to present a more robust and representative manifesto at the conference.
The initiative aims to foster an international community of practice to facilitate knowledge exchange and cooperation between territories. The DCC-SOE is institutionally supported by Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Port of Barcelona, with scientific participation from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), through the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), as well as BlueNetCat.
