Kicking off its fourth year of implementation, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (the ‘Ocean Decade’) has endorsed a new batch of 45 Decade Actions focused on the advancement of science-based solutions for a healthy ocean.
In line with the Ocean Decade’s vision of ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’, the latest set of Decade Actions address pressing ocean issues such as ecosystem stressors and pollution sources, biodiversity restoration, blue technologies, climate mitigation, marine monitoring, capacity development, and ocean literacy.
ICRI is pleased to announce that the ICRI 2021 – 2024 Plan of Action: Turning the Tide for Coral Reefs was among those officially endorsed as a decade contribution by the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), as part of the Ocean Decade. The ICRI Plan of Action, mainly sits under the Ocean Decade Challenge 2: Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity. However, ICRI and its members, through implementing the Plan of Action, aligns to the Ocean Decade and contributes to addressing the 10 challenges and 7 outcomes. This contribution unlocks the coral reef community’s ability to support the UN Decade of Ocean Science.
As an implementor of the Ocean Decade, ICRI’s commitment goes beyond individual actions, and acknowledges that together we can ensure the health and longevity of our oceans.
ICRI is joining several other coral reef stakeholders as contributors to the Decade: The G20 Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP), Marine Ecological Research Management Aid (MERMAID), The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), Reefs of Hope, and the Allen Coral Atlas to name a few.
Moreover, ICRI will be supporting the ‘science we need for the ocean we want’, at the upcoming 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona by hosting a side event on ‘The Coral Reef Breakthrough’. More information on the event can be found here: https://icriforum.org/events/the-coral-reef-breakthrough-the-2024-ocean-decade-conference/
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.
