The Ocean Decade

As of today, January 1st, 2021 the UN has set up a foundation for the management and support of our oceans across the globe to help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, called the Ocean Decade.

With the degradation of our ocean health becoming ever more present, the UN decided that further steps were needed to reverse the decline in ocean health. 

Over the coming decades, our climate will change, our population continues to grow and multiple environmental stressors will have significant impacts. The Ocean Decade aims to support scientific research and technologies, and integrate this information internationally to improve understanding and consequently policy change. 

Ocean science is a relatively new realm and as a result policy within deep sea, marine and coastal disciplines is sparse and unclear. Ocean Decade is a way in which ocean science can be at the forefront of peoples minds, breaking down national barriers, integrating its research into school curriculums, developed clearly in policy making, the list goes on.

Our ocean is a fundamental resource to our health, as it the main component of our atmospheric and climate stabilisation. The next 10 years are critical in restoring some balance back to our oceans and subsequently our planet as scientists have identified the coming years as our last chance to prevent irreversible climate change. As stewards of our ocean resources, the Ocean Decade is a great step forward to helping us sustainably deliver the ocean we need for the future we want.  

As we close down the rollercoaster year 2020 has been, what a great start and prospect to the year 2021 will be with the Ocean Decade.

If you want to read more on why we need the Ocean Decade check out an article written by Rachel Mills, the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences from the University of Southampton. Ocean Decade also has a website of its own if you want to check it out.