Publication Date:
2023-06-29
Description:
In 2016, the first World Ocean Assessment of the United Nations stated that humankind was running out of time to start managing the ocean sustainably. This alarming conclusion poses a question to our civilization: is there a way to reverse the decline in ocean health while continuing to rely on the ocean for our ever-increasing needs, particularly under a changing climate? The proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2017 of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 2021–2030 (hereafter, the ‘Ocean Decade’) is based on the informed conviction of UN Member States that indeed, this opportunity still exists, and that, furthermore, ocean science needs to play a central role in this process. Ocean science is broad: it encompasses natural and social science disciplines, local and indigenous knowledge; it includes the science-policy and science-innovation interfaces, as well as technology and infrastructure. At the beginning of the third millennium, ocean science is largely competent for diagnosing problems. However, its ability to offer solutions of direct relevance to sustainable development requires a massive upgrade. This need is particularly urgent against the current backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating climate change. The pandemic has, once again, highlighted the importance of science and knowledge for decision-making and policy. As the world adjusts to a new normal, the ocean will need to play a central role in post-pandemic recovery efforts. However, for this to occur, there needs to be a nothing short of a revolution in ocean science. The Ocean Decade will create a paradigm shift in the generation of qualitative and quantitative ocean knowledge – including from currently data-poor regions, such as the deep ocean, coastal areas where much of the human interaction with the ocean is concentrated, and the polar regions – to inform the development of solutions that contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Ocean Decade aims to catalyse the human behaviour change required for the successful implementation of these solutions. Guided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Ocean Decade will generate the data, information and knowledge needed for more robust science-informed policies and stronger science-policy interfaces at global, regional, national and even local levels, leading to improved integrated ocean management and development of a sustainable ocean economy. The Ocean Decade will support numerous UN entities to fulfil their ocean-related mandates. In our information-centred, internet-linked society, the Ocean Decade will support ocean data, information and knowledge systems to evolve into a much higher level of readiness, accessibility, and interoperability. The scale of such efforts will need to be exponentially greater than anything seen to date. An equally transformational part of the Ocean Decade is about humanity and our relationship with the ocean. Understanding of the value of the ocean can be nurtured through ocean literacy efforts among diverse stakeholder groups. Holders of indigenous and local knowledge will work as essential partners of the Ocean Decade and will contribute to highlighting the multitude of cultural values of the ocean. Equity, inclusiveness, respect, fairness and scientific integrity are core principles of the Ocean Decade. The Ocean Decade will systematically identify and dismantle barriers to achieving gender, geographic and generational balance so that no one is left behind. Everyone should be able to benefit from ocean science, including Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries. Designing and delivering ocean science that focuses on user needs and adopts relevant mechanisms for uptake will be a key metamorphosis to be achieved between 2021 and 2030. Its scale will be unprecedented. Multiple stakeholders are expected to engage and start collaborating outside their traditional communities. Knowledge generators and users will engage in an iterative process of co-design and co-delivery of ocean science. This will create new groupings of actors from natural, social science and humanity disciplines, business and industry, governments, UN entities, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), NGOs and civil society, educators, early career ocean professionals, ocean sports and recreation organizations, arts and cultural communities, and indigenous and local knowledge holders. Partnerships and active communication will be at the heart of the Ocean Decade. This Decade is not the first to take on the challenge of ocean science. In 1971–1980, earlier generations embarked on the International Decade of Ocean Exploration. As part of that Decade, groundbreaking collaborative research projects occurred. Many of which, such as the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, permanently changed the face of ocean exploration. However, one crucial difference remains between the two Decades: in the 1970s, the aim was to generate the ‘science we want’. In today’s world, we no longer have that luxury, and the current Decade is resolutely focused on the ‘science we need’. The Implementation Plan for such a major undertaking as the Ocean Decade cannot be, and is not, prescriptive. Rather, it provides a framework for transformational action that will build on existing achievements and deliver action across geographies, sectors, disciplines and generations. I hope you, as a reader and an Ocean Decade stakeholder, will share the overall strategic vision and approach of the Ocean Decade as described in the Implementation Plan. With your engagement and your support, the impact of the Ocean Decade will be much bigger than the sum of its parts and together we will be able to create the science we need for the ocean we want.
Description:
OPENASFA INPUT
he document should be cited as follows: UNESCO-IOC (2021). The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) Implementation Plan. UNESCO, Paris (IOC Ocean Decade Series, 20.).
Description:
Published
Description:
Not Known
Keywords:
United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
;
Implementation Plan
;
Oceanography
;
Sustainable Development
;
Science and Development
Repository Name:
AquaDocs
Type:
Report
Format:
56pp.
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