UN-GGIM

Covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, marine and inland waters are essential to climate adaptation, global trade, food and energy security, ecosystem health, and human well-being, with marine geospatial information playing a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Recent global developments—such as the adoption of the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) and the ongoing UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030)—underscore the growing urgency for robust geospatial information solutions to strengthen ocean governance, management and sustainability.

The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) has consistently emphasized the importance of integrating marine geospatial information into national geospatial frameworks and strategies to support sustainable development and informed decision-making. The Committee commended its Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information to raise awareness of the value of marine geospatial information and encouraged the availability, accessibility, and integration of such information for societal, environmental, and economic benefit. In August 2025, at its fifteenth session, the Committee and IHO formally endorsed the formation of the UN-GGIM and IHO Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information. The Joint Working Group brings together the mandates and expertise of UN-GGIM’s former Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information and the IHO Marine Spatial Data Infrastructures Working Group. The establishment of this unified body reflects the shared recognition that a coordinated and holistic approach to managing marine geospatial information is necessary to strengthen coastal resilience, support the blue economy, address climate and biodiversity challenges, and advance national implementation of the Operational Framework for Integrated Marine Geospatial Information Management (UN-IGIF-Hydro).

The First Expert Meeting of the UN-GGIM and IHO Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 4 to 8 May 2026, under the theme “Advancing Integrated Marine Geospatial Information Management”. Organized jointly by the UN-GGIM Secretariat and the IHO Secretariat, in cooperation with the Hydrographic Department, Royal Thai Navy, the meeting will serve as the first in-person convening of the newly established Joint Working Group. It will provide a platform to agree on the Group’s strategic direction and priorities, develop and adopt a consolidated Joint Workplan for 2026–2028, discuss methodology and guidance priorities, including consideration of how the UN-IGIF-Hydro and IHO C-17 can be regularly reviewed, updated and applied in a coherent and complementary manner, strengthen collaboration with policy and legal communities including in relation to UNCLOS and the BBNJ Agreement, and share national and regional experiences, good practices, challenges and capacity needs. Collectively, these discussions will support the operationalization of the Joint Working Group’s mandate and help accelerate integrated marine geospatial information management worldwide.