SOI will provide a global platform to build partnerships and enhance capacity to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets related to marine and coastal biodiversity in a holistic manner. This will contribute to the capacity development of SIDS from national to subnational level, and through thematic and regional cooperation initiatives) to sustainably manage their ocean and coastal biodiversity and benefit from the many environmental, social, and economic services provided by healthy marine ecosystems.

The central activities of SOI include:· National, subnational and regional level capacity development workshops;· Development of training materials of modules addressing conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, with a focus on supporting ground-level implementation;· Development of an online information-sharing mechanism to link different sources of information on ocean science and policy and provide centralized access to important sources of information to support research prioritization and policy development and implementation;· Facilitating sharing of lessons-learned from different experiences in ocean and coastal management, including through online information-sharing mechanism, capacity development workshops, and global partnership meetings;· Development of a training-of-trainers programme to equip potential trainers with the background knowledge, skills and practical experience needed to train individuals at different levels and relay this information in a way that is useful to managers and ground-level implementers. · Development of expert guidance materials to support sound and science-based policymaking and impementation · Identification of specific opportunities for partnerships to improve on-the-ground implementation, with a focus on sustainable fisheries (Aichi Target 6), marine protected areas (Aichi Target 11), and the impacts of multiple stressors, including climate change and ocean acidification, on vulnerable marine ecosystems such as coral reefs (Aichi Target 10), among others.

All of the activities of SOI aim to focus centrally on capacity building to provide countries, in particular SIDS and developing countries, with the tools and resources needed to progress towards the achievement of the CBD Aichi Biodiversity Target on marine and coastal biodiversity (in particular, Aichi Biodiversity Targets 6, 10, 11 and 12).

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity currently coordinates the implementation of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative. Coordination will be further supported by a website/online information-sharing mechanism, along with periodic SOI Global Partnership Meetings.

Since its inception, necessary financial resources for the implementation of SOI have been provided by Japan (through Japan Biodiversity Fund) and France (through French marine protected areas agency); in-kind contribution by Senegal, Republic of Korea, China through hosting the workshops/meetings; technical support provided by Australia (through Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation: CSIRO), Germany (through GIZ), Monaco (through Monaco Blue Initiative), Korea (Korea Maritime Institute, Korea Environment Management Corporation), United Nations Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-UNESCO, regional seas organizations/regional fisheries management organizations/other relevant regional initiatives (such as Abidjan Convention, North West Pacific Action Plan, Partnership for Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia, South-east Atlantic Fisheries Organization, etc), IUCN-Commission on Ecosystem Management-Fisheries Expert Group, Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiatives, Lifeweb Initiative, Global Island Partnership, MedPAN: the Network of Managers of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean, Brest_Metropole Oceane as the chair of the Maritime Innovative Territories International Network-MITIN, and many other partner organizations.