Over fifty new endorsed Actions strengthen the Ocean Decade global movement

Delivering science-based solutions for sustainable development, a set of 54 new Decade Actions is officially endorsed by the Ocean Decade.

Addressing priority issues, the newly endorsed Decade Actions contribute to the ten Ocean Decade Challenges and address diverse issues ranging from coastal resilience, ocean observations and monitoring, marine pollution, ecosystem health, sustainable ocean economy to capacity development and more.

The new Actions add to the earlier set of endorsements announced on 8 June 2022, World Oceans Day, and were all endorsed in response to the second Call for Decade Actions that closed in January 2022.

From Chile to Nigeria, India and Samoa, these Actions are led primarily by governmental and research institutions based in 24 countries around the world. Non-profit and intergovernmental bodies and United Nations agencies are also involved, all working together through the Ocean Decade to deliver the science we need for the ocean we want.

Among the Projects, five stem from a joint call for proposals on underwater noise in the marine environment launched with the Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans), one of the Ocean Decade’s Implementing Partners.

“Thirty-nine of the new Projects are formally linked to existing Ocean Decade Programmes, and will work closely with these Programmes to grow and develop in response to the urgent need for collaboration on scientific research and investment,” said Julian Barbière, Ocean Decade Global Coordinator and Head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, IOC-UNESCO. “We congratulate all the endorsed Decade Actions and thank them for their important contributions towards sustainable development.”

The next Call for Decade Actions will be launched on 15 October 2022 and will be open until 31 January 2023. More details on the Challenges and Themes will be available soon on the Ocean Decade website.

Read more on the 17 Ocean Decade Programmes hosting newly endorsed Projects:

• The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project
• Ocean Decade Research Programme on the Maritime Acoustic Environment
• CoastPredict – Observing and Predicting the Global Coastal Ocean
• Deltas associated with large rivers: Seeking solutions to the problem of sustainability (Mega Deltas)
• Marine Life 2030
• Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS)
• Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network (OBON)
• ForeSea – The Ocean Prediction Capacity of the Future
• Challenger 150 – A Decade to Study Deep-Sea Life
• Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
• Cultural Heritage Framework Programme
• Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD)
• One Ocean Network for Deep Observation
• Pacific solutions to save our ocean: An integrated ocean science programme towards a healthy Blue Pacific Continent to sustain future generations
• Global Ocean Corps and Conveyor
• An Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS)
• Ocean Best Practices for the Decade

Discover here the full list of newly 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 IOC-UNESCO:

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) 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.