The United Nations has proclaimed a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health and gather ocean stakeholders worldwide behind a common framework that will ensure ocean science can fully support countries in creating improved conditions for sustainable development of the Ocean.
WCRP’s co-sponsor, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO will coordinate the Decade’s preparatory process, inviting the global ocean community to plan for the next ten years in ocean science and technology to deliver, together, the ocean we need for the future we want.
The UN Ocean Decade is based around six societal objectives:
- A safe Ocean
- A Sustainable and Productive Ocean
- A Transparent and Accessible Ocean
- A Clean Ocean
- A Healthy and Resilient Ocean
- A Predicted Ocean
WCRP has a particular role in helping to identify knowledge gaps and ocean science priorities for the UN Ocean Decade, often building on its current activities such as the Climate and Ocean Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR) Project and the Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level and Coastal Impacts (amongst others). Representatives of the WCRP community, Martin Visbeck (WCRP JSC), and Pavel Kabat, (Director of Research), attended the first Global Planning Meeting on 13-15 May. The Meeting offered a crucial opportunity to co-design mission-oriented research strategies in line with the aims of the UN Ocean Decade and the 2030 Agenda. Several knowledge gaps were highlighted, including the Southern Ocean, Arctic, and the deep ocean, all of which are already core to CLIVAR in association with other WCRP activities, such as the Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) Project. The JSC Chair, Detlef Stammer, will discuss WCRP’s involvement further at the upcoming IOC General Assembly at the end of June. WCRP will continue to work with its co-sponsors and partners to provide meaningful engagement with the UN Ocean Decade.
For further details see: https://en.unesco.org/ocean-decade
