The 2026 Global Ocean Development Forum in Qingdao focused on sustainable marine economy development and unveiled key reports and initiatives.
The 2026 Global Ocean Development Forum was held recently in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province. At the event, organizers released two major marine economy reports, unveiled new global marine environmental monitoring datasets, and launched an international initiative on ocean public welfare.
The forum aimed to advance the sustainable development of the marine economy. The People's Government of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Natural Resources organized it.
This year's forum followed a '1+1+4+8' framework, which included: an opening ceremony and main forum, a dialogue session themed on ocean civilization, four parallel forums, and eight side events.
Organizers stated that the forum served as a platform for countries at different stages of development to share marine opportunities and jointly shoulder governance responsibilities.
Several key outcomes were released during the main forum, led by two reports.
The 'World Marine Economy Development Report 2026' covers nine major global marine industries and nearly 30 coastal countries. It outlines the development of the global marine economy in 2025. The report is intended to serve as a reference for ocean economic policymaking, corporate investment decisions, and marine economic research.
The 'China Ocean Development Index Report 2026' assesses six dimensions, including the economy and people's livelihood, sci-tech innovation, and the ecological environment. According to the report, the China Ocean Development Index rose 2.5% year on year to 132.3 in 2025.
Multi-source datasets for global marine environmental monitoring were also unveiled at the main forum. The datasets integrate several monitoring methods, including remote sensing and on-site observation, with AI calibration.
They present changes in the marine environment across several areas, including thermal conditions, ocean waves, typhoon gales, and the ecological environment.
The forum also unveiled the 'Global Initiative for the Ocean Decade Marine Public Welfare Action.' It seeks to encourage more global stakeholders to share marine governance outcomes so that more coastal regions can benefit.
The initiative focuses on five areas: urban collaboration, science empowerment, ecological conservation, public participation, and the blue economy.
Since its debut in 2024, the Global Ocean Development Forum has drawn broad participation from international organizations, domestic and overseas public departments, universities, and research institutions.
Host province Shandong reported a gross marine product of 1.9 trillion yuan in 2025, ranking second in China. The province pledged to further develop green shipping, marine new energy, and other sectors. It said it would work with all parties to build a more resilient and sustainable landscape for blue ocean development.
