UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030

OneDeepOcean's international team from IFREMER, JAMSTEC, ONC, and EMSO

 

 

The 2024 Ocean Decade Conference took place on 10-12 April in Barcelona, Spain, three years after the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). It brought together the scientific community participating in Decade activities on a variety of topics, including ocean observation, to look at the achievements of the initiative so far and reflect on scientific solutions. After discussions organised in panels, the conference set priorities for the future of the Decade through the Barcelona Statement.

“Delivering the science we need for the ocean we want”

 

OneDeepOcean

As an Ocean Decade Programme, One Ocean Network for Deep Observation (OneDeepOcean) was present at the Ocean Decade Conference. The programme, along with other deep-ocean groups, contributed to the “Deepening the Decade” booth organised by the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative. The booth goal was to highlight deep ocean science and knowledge and its importance in achieving the Decade’s objectives—a unique opportunity for OneDeepOcean to discuss with other key stakeholders to promote our activities.

What OneDeepOcean brought to the booth:

  • Information on the objectives of the programme and the importance of deep-sea observation
  • Updates on technological innovations currently being developed at Ifremer
  • Short movies from JAMSTEC and Ifremer on the ScInObs project
  • A short movie from Ifremer on a capacity-building project of art and science for students
  • A VR headset movie produced by Ifremer providing an immersive experience into deep-sea corals

 

The programme’s teams from Ifremer, JAMSTEC, ONC, and EMSO-ERIC made use of this event to have an in-person meeting to discuss both our achievements and our future collaborations.

 

In addition, our scientists participated in several panel discussions during the three days of the conference:

 

Marjolaine Matabos, deep-sea biologist at Ifremer, shared her research experience from EMSO Azores by presenting a film under the iAtlantic project during the side event “Strong scientific community for a sustainable Atlantic Ocean” and during the side event “The contribution of the International Seabed Authority to the scientific objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”.

 

Nan-Chin Chu, coordinator of OneDeepOcean, emphasized the importance of progressing deep-ocean research for the next generation through making the deep ocean relevant, measurable and useful.  To illustrate these, she highlighted examples from the programme, such as the Deep-Sea Street Art and Ocean Spy initiatives, technological developments for more effective observation, and working with Marine Parks. All participants in the session agreed that the key to advancing deep-sea research was to pool resources and collaborate.