With the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference marking a milestone event, the first half of the year saw a series of international ocean gatherings where the global ocean community expressed its resolve to take action for the marine environment. As a concrete illustration of this commitment, a new batch of 43 Decade Actions spanning regional and thematic priority areas of ocean action has been endorsed.
At present, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’) has galvanized thousands of partners, with more than 500 initiatives carried out in around 66 countries to achieve the 10 Ocean Decade Challenges. With this latest set of Decade Actions, new ocean solutions are bolstering the Ocean Decade portfolio, encompassing diverse and urgent issues ranging from the protection and restoration of marine biodiversity, resilient fisheries and industrial management, to ocean observation and databases, as well as ocean literacy.
Extending across 15 countries – from Australia to Kazakhstan, Tanzania and Mexico – the new Actions are primarily led by research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector and are the first steps on the road to fulfilling the priorities and recommendations identified in the Barcelona Statement which emerged from the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference held in Barcelona in April.
“Since the start of the Decade, we have built a strong awareness of the need for action within our community. Now, we are channeling this determination into concrete efforts to get the best results,” said Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC). “Through these new Actions, the Ocean Decade is guiding the ocean community and global ocean policies towards the identified thematic and regional priority gaps outlined in the Barcelona Statement.”
Discover here the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions
Balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability for a healthy and productive ocean
As the coordinating agency of the Ocean Decade, UNESCO-IOC is leading two new Programmes to advance sustainable ocean planning, as well as to empower ocean stewardship in Africa.
The Ocean Decade Programme on Sustainable Ocean Planning has been co-designed as a response to the recommendations from the High-Level Ocean Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. It will coordinate and support Decade Actions under Challenges 3 and 4, focusing primarily on a sustainable and equitable ocean economy. Through transboundary cooperation, this Programme aims to develop the tools and knowledge needed for user-driven, climate-smart, and equitable ocean planning underpinned by scientific and Indigenous and local knowledge.
Through its regional Sub-Commission for Africa and Adjacent Island States (IOCAFRICA), UNESCO-IOC is also creating an enabling environment for the implementation of the Ocean Decade in Africa – one of the focus regions of the Decade. The Programme will help the achievement of the nine priority actions set out in the Ocean Decade Africa Roadmap. This Programme is structured around four thematic components addressing the sustainable management of marine resources, climate change and marine biodiversity, ocean pollution, and resilience to ocean hazards.
To further support ocean leadership in this region, the newly endorsed Western Indian Ocean Marine Conservation Program (MARCOP) will support targeted capacity development efforts in Eastern and South African nations. Led by the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) and Macquarie University, this initiative will develop environmental and management solutions, as well as technical, financial, and institutional support for the WIO countries.
Climate change is causing notable shifts in the catch and trade of fish products, with potentially important economic consequences, particularly for nations heavily reliant on the sector. The newly-endorsed Decade Programme The Future of Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems (FishMIP) by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies of the University of Tasmania, Australia, will test new marine models, construct future scenarios of climate change and sea-use, and provide forecasts on how future ecosystems and fisheries will respond over time.
Collective actions for ocean resilience and awareness
The Decade Programme Global Ecosystem for Ocean Solutions (GEOS) will host 10 new Projects to scale up solutions around the ocean-climate nexus. These initiatives focus on the restoration of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, climate remediation, carbon dioxide removal technologies, and digital coastal ecosystems. Based on multidisciplinary collaboration and co-design, these Projects will be implemented in coastal areas, including in Africa and Caribbean Small Island Developing States.
Under the umbrella of the Ocean Literacy With All (OLWA) Programme, six Projects will accelerate a fundamental shift in the way our ocean is valued, understood, and managed. These initiatives will build an ocean literate society through formal and informal educational and awareness-raising tools, including gameplay and immersive 3D imagery.
These new endorsements bring the total number of Ocean Decade Actions to 556, implemented on all continents and covering all ocean basins.
The current Call for Decade Actions No. 07/2024 is open until 31 August 2024, aiming to fill gaps in resource mobilization and capacity development for a sustainable ocean.
Discover here the full list of endorsed Ocean Decade Actions
For more information, please contact:
Ocean Decade Communications Team (oceandecade.comms@unesco.org)
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About the Ocean Decade:
Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.
About the UNESCO-IOC:
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) promotes international cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts and marine resources. The IOC enables its 150 Member States to work together by coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean observations and services, ocean science and tsunami warning. The work of the IOC contributes to the mission of UNESCO to promote the advancement of science and its applications to develop knowledge and capacity, key to economic and social progress, the basis of peace and sustainable development.
