Resolutions/decisions of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS, 2017), Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2018), Convention on Biological Diversity (2018) and IUCN (2020) have called for establishment of a multistakeholder global coastal forum that brings together key actors to facilitate the protection, management and restoration of these habitats. To help answer this call, a range of informal consultations and meetings organised by various international NGOs with government agencies, conventions and experts has taken place since 2017 to find more effective means of providing science- and evidence-based processes to support and upscale local, national and international conservation efforts.

An International Advisory Meeting on the World Coastal Forum held on Jan 10, 2022 in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, China with global online participation of government agencies, conventions, international NGOs and experts, agreed to establish a “World Coastal Forum (WCF)”. The meeting was hosted by the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.

Since February 2022, a voluntary informal WCF CG has been meeting quarterly to oversee the WCF establishment process, involving the participant organisations listed below. In 2022 this progress in establishment was recognised in resolutions or decisions of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, Ramsar Convention and Convention on Biological Diversity. At the opening ceremony of the Ramsar COP14, President Xi Jinping announced that China would hold a WCF Conference and at a side event at the COP, the Yancheng Government announced that they would host a first conference in 2023. Subsequently, in recognition of entering the next stage of development of the WCF, the WCFEG decided to change its name to the WCF Coordination Group (WCFCG).

A World Coastal Forum Partnership Initiative was launched during the 2023 World Coastal Forum held 25 and 27 September 2023 in Yancheng City, China. This initiative is intended to engage like-minded stakeholders to develop and initiate priority actions in support of the WCF’s mission and the vision