On 5-6 September 2019, the ICPO staff participated in the East Asia Marine Environment Cooperation Forum and Workshop on UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable development, sponsored by Qingdao Municipal People’s Government and IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (IOC-WESTPAC), and organised by First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources of China and Qingdao West Coast New Area Administrative Committee.

During the workshop, results from the ‘Regional Planning Workshop for the North Pacific and Western Pacific Marginal Seas towards the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development’ which was held in Tokyo, Japan from 31 Jul 2019 - 02 Aug 2019, have been presented under six working groups, including: (1) a Clean Ocean; (2) a healthy ocean; (3) a predicted ocean; (4) a safe ocean; (5) a sustainably harvested and productive ocean and (6) a transparent and accessible ocean. Participants to the workshop further discussed the knowledge gaps and scientific priorities to achieve the six goals; the existing and potential projects and partnership as well as the recommendations for activities in support of the Decade.  The topics that have been repeatedly highlighted during the workshop include:

• Solution-based ocean science;
• Capacity building for all stakeholders, in particular for the young generations;
• Sustainable ocean observations and data and knowledge sharing and transfer;
• Knowledge gap;
• Science – policy interface;
• Partnership with blue economy sectors.

Jose Santos, Executive Director from ICPO, noted the meeting that CLIVAR would like to seek future cooperation with IOC-WESTPAC and research institutes in China and North and Western Pacific Region, to achieve the goals of the Decade, in particular on ‘a predicted ocean’, and to improve understanding of oceanic impacts from climate events and capacity building on climate change adaptation.

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Background:

The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to focus international efforts at the science-policy interface to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health and to improve conditions for sustainable development of the ocean. The Decade will generate the scientific knowledge, underpinning infrastructures and partnerships needed to inform policies in support of all sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda.

The First Global Planning Meeting (GPM) on UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development took place in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen from 13 to15 May 2019. The outputs of the first Global Planning Meeting for the Decade will inform the preparation phase of the Decade and the development of the implementation and resource mobilization plan. The full report summarizing the priority issues for programme development expressed by the participants, knowledge gaps in how to address the societal goals, and recommended activities for the way forward, is available at:

 http://www.ioc-unesco.org/index.php?option=com_oe&task=viewDocumentRecord&docID=24807