The ISC supports the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which began in 2021.
Background
This Decade provides a common framework to ensure that ocean science can fully support countries’ actions to sustainably manage the Oceans and to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Key planned actions include promoting the Ocean Decade among the scientific community, contributing to Decade preparations, accelerating scientific initiatives, and exploring opportunities for joint fundraising for scientific research.
Activities and impact
- 5 December 2017: United Nations proclaimed a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, to be held from 2021 to 2030.
- February 2020: the ISC and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), joined forces for the Decade by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. the International Science Council has traditionally cooperated with UNESCO’s IOC, which has a global membership of 150 countries, in the fields of ocean sciences, climate sciences and related observations, and capacity development. In particular, the two Paris-based organizations helped found and remain at the helm of two key international ocean science initiatives: the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), a worldwide collaborative network of in situ and satellite observing systems, governments, UN agencies and individual scientists; and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), an international body anchored within the ISC whose mandate is to address interdisciplinary science questions related to the ocean.
- 2020: The ISC contributed to a series of webinars to explore how the co-design and co-delivery of actions for the Ocean Decade could help contribute much-needed solutions for a healthy Ocean. The findings from the webinars are summarized in the 2021 publication Co-designing the science we need for the Ocean we want with input from the ISC.
- 2022: ISC Members share key take-aways from the 2022 UN Ocean Conference.
- 2025: The ISC actively contributed to the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, and taking place in Nice from 9 to 13 June 2025. Through its ocean expert group and extensive scientific networks, the ISC ensured that evidence-based solutions and interdisciplinary insights shape the conference outcomes.
Get involved: Check out ways to get involved on the official Decade’s website.
Cover photo: Ben Moat (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)
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