Southern Ocean UN Decade - ‘The science we need for the ocean we want’
We are at the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health. The initiative aims to globally strengthen the international cooperation needed to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society.
The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (hereafter ‘Ocean Decade’) intends to bring together various stakeholders to set up a common framework to ensure ocean science can fully support countries in achieving the sustainable management of oceans across the globe.
The Southern Ocean community is currently engaged in a stakeholder-oriented process to develop the ‘Southern Ocean Action Plan’. To ensure the Action Plan represents the diverse perspectives and priorities of a wide range of stakeholders in the Southern Ocean, we aim to bring together a broad community spanning from the scientific research community to data managers, as well as representatives of the business and industry sector, governance and management bodies. This Action Plan will define concrete activities and recommendations for a data infrastructure that support the Decade vision.
A kick-off meeting is planned on the 9th July 2021 with the aim of gathering a maximum of Southern Ocean stakeholders and setting up Working Groups for each of the Decade’s Societal Outcomes. Working Groups will set out to identify the needs and priorities of the Southern Ocean as part of a Southern Ocean Action Plan.
The Southern Ocean Decade & Polar Data Forum Week 2021 (online, 20-24 September 2021) will be dedicated to the 2nd Southern Ocean Regional Workshop for the UN Ocean Decade and the 4th edition of the Polar Data Forum. During the Workshop, global stakeholders will be able to comment and contribute to the Draft Action Plan that is currently being developed. In order to bring together scientists and data managers, Polar Data Forum IV (PDF IV) will focus on polar oceans. This will enable PDF IV to be aligned with the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science and support its activities in the Southern Ocean.
Through this combined effort, we will identify synergies in priorities over the next decade and identify tangible actions and deliverables to achieve Southern Ocean priorities as a community. More specifically, the Southern Ocean Decade & Polar Data Forum Week 2021 will tackle existing constraints affecting the management of polar oceans such as the lack of coordinated research facilities and limited access to data, infrastructure and resources. Engagement within this process will ensure that Lifewatch will continue to mobilize policy relevant data and to develop data workflows and tools in support of decision making in accordance with the FAIR principles. The decade-long initiative aims to deliver the necessary tools to attain the ocean we want, especially in the Southern Ocean Region.
With its long-standing involvement in Antarctica particularly through the development of the SCAR Antarctic Biodiversity Portal, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) is ideally placed to achieve the Ocean Decade vision together with the Southern Ocean Task Force.
Copyright image: Charles Odinot
The Southern Ocean community is currently engaged in a stakeholder-oriented process to develop the ‘Southern Ocean Action Plan’. To ensure the Action Plan represents the diverse perspectives and priorities of a wide range of stakeholders in the Southern Ocean, we aim to bring together a broad community spanning from the scientific research community to data managers, as well as representatives of the business and industry sector, governance and management bodies. This Action Plan will define concrete activities and recommendations for a data infrastructure that support the Decade vision.
A kick-off meeting is planned on the 9th July 2021 with the aim of gathering a maximum of Southern Ocean stakeholders and setting up Working Groups for each of the Decade’s Societal Outcomes. Working Groups will set out to identify the needs and priorities of the Southern Ocean as part of a Southern Ocean Action Plan.
The Southern Ocean Decade & Polar Data Forum Week 2021 (online, 20-24 September 2021) will be dedicated to the 2nd Southern Ocean Regional Workshop for the UN Ocean Decade and the 4th edition of the Polar Data Forum. During the Workshop, global stakeholders will be able to comment and contribute to the Draft Action Plan that is currently being developed. In order to bring together scientists and data managers, Polar Data Forum IV (PDF IV) will focus on polar oceans. This will enable PDF IV to be aligned with the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science and support its activities in the Southern Ocean.
Through this combined effort, we will identify synergies in priorities over the next decade and identify tangible actions and deliverables to achieve Southern Ocean priorities as a community. More specifically, the Southern Ocean Decade & Polar Data Forum Week 2021 will tackle existing constraints affecting the management of polar oceans such as the lack of coordinated research facilities and limited access to data, infrastructure and resources. Engagement within this process will ensure that Lifewatch will continue to mobilize policy relevant data and to develop data workflows and tools in support of decision making in accordance with the FAIR principles. The decade-long initiative aims to deliver the necessary tools to attain the ocean we want, especially in the Southern Ocean Region.
With its long-standing involvement in Antarctica particularly through the development of the SCAR Antarctic Biodiversity Portal, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) is ideally placed to achieve the Ocean Decade vision together with the Southern Ocean Task Force.
Copyright image: Charles Odinot
