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Ocean Decade dives into action

Celebrating World Oceans Day on 8 June 2021, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) announced the first 166 actions endorsed as part of the Ocean Decade, or UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), as it is officially called.
From restoring the Great Barrier Reef to mapping 100 per cent of the ocean floor in high resolution, these innovative programmes and contributions make up the first set of Ocean Decade Actions that will help deliver the ocean we want by 2030
Audrey Azoulay
Audrey Azoulay UNESCO Director-General

Actions were selected for their focus on solutions and ability to generate new ocean knowledge for sustainable development; their use of innovative technology; their transdisciplinary efforts linking scientists and users of ocean knowledge; and their contribution to inclusivity by empowering women, early-career professionals and indigenous knowledge holders.

Led by an array of partners from science, government, civil society, the UN family, the private sector, philanthropy and international organizations, these flagship Ocean Decade Actions have a global geographical reach.

Their diverse themes range from deep-sea research and exploration of the little-known twilight zone of the ocean (from 200 to 1000 m) to reducing such pressures on marine ecosystems as climate change, biodiversity loss, underwater noise and pollution.

The hundreds of responses to the first Call for Decade Actions showcase the huge interest around this global movement. The initial Actions are just the first building blocks of the Decade – there will be many chances to engage.
Vladimir Ryabinin, IOC-UNESCO’s Executive Secretary

Calls for Decade Actions at six-month intervals will offer partners around the world chances to propose new projects and take part in the Ocean Decade’s knowledge revolution, captured in the slogan ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. More than 25 national committees in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Latin America were set up in 2021 to support the Decade. The Ocean Decade Alliance was formed to boost funding for ocean science throughout the Decade; the heads of state of Kenya, Monaco, Norway and Portugal are patrons, with leaders from philanthropy and ocean industries. Coordinating agency for the Ocean Decade, IOC-UNESCO has selected fifteen experts from thirteen countries to serve on the Decade Advisory Board and provide strategic advice on the Decade implementation.

In April 2021, IOC-UNESCO published a report that underlines why we need the Ocean Decade. Integrated Ocean Carbon Research warns that without remedial action, the ocean could lose its vital ability to absorb carbon, a disaster that would exacerbate global warming.

Integrated ocean carbon research: a summary of ocean carbon research, and vision of coordinated ocean carbon research and observations for the next decade
UNESCO/IOC
2021
UNESCO
0000376708

Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly and contributing to the UN 2030 Agenda, the Ocean Decade aims to develop urgently needed adaptation strategies and science-informed policy responses to reverse the ocean’s decline and to create new opportunities for this immense marine ecosystem’s sustainable development.