© Tom Gross
Knowing our ocean is the first step toward its protection

The forum will provide a space for interdisciplinary scientific discussions and dialogue between scientists, policy makers, major groups and other stakeholder.
The IOC is organising a side event on ocean and science.
Public awareness about environmental problems has increased in recent years. Societies are now demanding that policy-makers take proactive positions towards respecting the sustainable use and management of natural resources. In some cases, these new approaches are being reflected in marine strategies at regional/international levels, which will demand considerably increased efforts towards oceanographic data acquisition as well as promoting data analysis and technological assistance. Firstly, more and new research has to be done to fully understand and evaluate the impacts of global change on the world’s oceans. Secondly, it has to be recognized that the governance of oceans is fragmented along both sectoral and geographic lines that ignore the interconnectedness and scale of ocean issues. There is an urgent need for an international framework of cooperation for both ocean research and governance, which will define the conditions for scientists to prepare accurate scenarios for the future.