UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development - "Ocean Decade"

Largest ecosystem on earth

The oceans are the largest ecosystem on Earth, providing a wide range of resources and ecosystem services. In recent years, policy makers and the public have become increasingly aware of the importance of a healthy state of the oceans for humans.
Unfortunately, many of the complex interactions are still poorly understood and there is a lack of scientifically sound options for action to protect and use the oceans sustainably.

Ocean Decade (2021 - 2030)

This is where the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021 - 2030) comes in. The vision of the Decade "The Science We Need For The Ocean We Want" sets the ambitious goal of developing and implementing science-based solutions for a sustainable ocean. The Ocean Decade will make a crucial contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) by 2030, in particular SDG 14 (Life Underwater).

The Ocean Decade was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2017. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) was mandated to prepare it. After intensive global coordination processes, the IOC submitted the implementation plan for the Decade, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 31, 2020.

The implementation plan contains the goals, implementation and governance mechanisms of the Decade. After the official launch of the Decade on January 1st, 2021, it is now to be gradually filled with life by all participating partners under the coordination of the IOC. A first Call for Action for global programs was distributed in October 2020 and received a great global response. Further calls will follow to steer and channel contributions to the Decade worldwide.

Implementation of the Ocean Decade in Germany

For the implementation of the Decade in Germany, the German Ocean Decade Committee was established. Such national committees are foreseen in the Implementation Plan. Their task is to communicate the contents of the Decade, to network the national stakeholders and to coordinate the national contributions to the Decade. For this purpose, the German IOC Section established the Committee with representatives of all stakeholder groups. Other important partners are involved in the Committees working groups.

BSH participation

The President of the BSH, Karin Kammann-Klippstein (PhD), is a member of the German Ocean Decade Committee and participates in the working groups "Politics" and "Economy". Balancing the protection and use of the oceans is particularly important to her. This can only be achieved through the close involvement of all partners, including those from the business community. This should not be limited to the maritime sector, but should also include economic sectors that consciously or unconsciously cause land-based impacts on the marine ecosystem.