News

On this 2023 International Women’s Day special edition of the Ocean Decade Conversations, we have a very passionate guest who’s calling us to take action for the ocean now! The ocean is Maya Gabeira’s home and she has been experiencing with her own eyes the enormous challenges this ecosystem has been facing, from loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, overfishing and ocean acidification. But how to change this?

Three years after the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), a global conference will bring together the Ocean Decade community and partners to celebrate achievements and set joint priorities for the future of the Decade.

Zooplankton, a key component of most marine ecosystems, are rapidly responding to climate change. A new paper shows how various species are affected, and highlights that coordinated, sustained ocean observations will be essential to understand how ecosystems will continue to function in our changing environment.

In March 2023, the Republic of Panama will become the first Central American country to host the Our Ocean Conference. With the theme “Our Ocean, Our Connection”, the conference will create a space for collaborative dialogue between Heads of State, private sector, civil society and academia around the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, as well as public awareness about the ocean.

Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected Seas (NEAMTWS) responded to the earthquake. Tsunami Service Providers in Italy (INGV) and Türkiye (KOERI) issued their first tsunami bulletins within 8 to 15 minutes respectively following the detection of the earthquake.

The Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group—co-chaired by Fugro and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (IOC/UNESCO)—was officially launched last week during an online kick-off meeting.

Through its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC/UNESCO), UNESCO has launched the prototype of a web-based tool for developing country professionals to discover capacity development opportunities around the world in ocean science and management.

2022 has been and continues to be a year of promise for the ocean’s wellbeing. Widely termed the “super year” for the ocean, due to the many important conferences where ocean health has been a focus of attention, there has been much progress this year towards the recovery and sustainable use of the ocean.

An experts meeting, co-organised by IOC-UNESCO and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), was held in Naples, Italy from 28-30 November 2022 to explore opportunities and identify key actions to implement the new ICG/NEAMTWS 2030 Strategy.