Donovan Campbell, UWI Professor and UN World Ocean Assessment expert.
The University of the West Indies’ (The UWI) Professor Donovan Campbell, a top climate and sustainability expert, played a key role in the United Nations’ Third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III), a major global review of the ocean.
Launched on World Oceans Day (June 8, 2026), WOA III is the only global assessment that looks at the marine environment as a whole. The assessment brought together over 580 scientists and experts from 86 countries. It provides governments, policymakers, and international organisations with a solid, evidence-based guide for making decisions on important marine and coastal issues. Professor Campbell was one of 25 experts leading the project, offering strategic direction and scientific guidance throughout.
“It was a tremendous honour to help steer a process of such global importance,” Professor Campbell said. “What sets WOA III apart is that it treats the ocean as a single connected system, weighing its environmental health alongside the economies and societies that depend on it. That is the only way to see clearly what is at stake and what must be done.”
The report highlights growing global ocean problems, including rising ocean temperatures, damage to marine ecosystems, changes in fisheries, sea-level rise, and increased pressure on coastal communities. It also stresses the need for science-based policies, ecosystem protection, sustainable resource management, and stronger international collaboration.
For Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, the findings are particularly significant. The region’s economies and livelihoods—spanning tourism, fisheries, maritime transport, coastal development, and emerging blue economy sectors—depend heavily on healthy marine ecosystems. At the same time, Caribbean states are among the most vulnerable to climate-related impacts on the ocean, including coral reef loss, coastal erosion, more intense tropical cyclones, and sea-level rise.
“The Caribbean has a profound stake in the future of the ocean,” Professor Campbell noted. “For Jamaica and other Small Island Developing States, ocean sustainability is an economic, social, and developmental imperative. The assessment reinforces the need for evidence-based policy, stronger ocean governance, sustainable ocean planning, and sustained investment in resilience, conservation, and sustainable ocean industries.”
As countries continue their efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, WOA III is expected to serve as a reference tool for policymakers, researchers, development agencies, and international organisations over the coming decade.
Professor Donovan Campbell is a Professor of Geography at The UWI Mona Campus and the current Director of the Western Jamaica Campus. He is a climate and sustainability specialist whose work focuses on climate action and social equity, partnering with Caribbean communities and governments to advance climate‑resilient solutions for a sustainable future. His involvement in the WOA III assessment highlights UWI’s continued leadership in global scientific and policy initiatives, particularly in climate change, ocean sustainability, and sustainable development.