The Decade will provide a galvanizing opportunity worldwide to boost ocean science, to share knowledge on the ocean, and work together to meet Sustainable Development Goal 14 (the “ocean” SDG) and the other Goals with an ocean dimension. And it’s urgently needed: despite action to improve ocean management, the UN’s First World Ocean Assessment found that the ocean’s carrying capacity is near or at its limit.

The Ocean Decade aims to strengthen scientific capacity across the board, especially in areas where it’s currently limited, and to leverage recent advances in interdisciplinary working to generate new insights on the changes taking place in our ocean, and find new solutions. This is why we consulted members of our scientific communities – including social and natural scientists working on different issues related to ocean and sustainable development – about new voices we need to make the next 10 years of ocean science truly inclusive.