Connecting Ocean Science to Society: An Emergency

Looking back at the “One Ocean Summit”, by oceans connectes

In Brest, on 11 February 2022, at the invitation of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, some forty heads of state and government met to make joint commitments to preserve the oceans.
During this unprecedented “One Ocean Summit”, numerous announcements were made. They mark a strong international political will to act urgently for the health of the oceans.
Numerous international meetings are scheduled for 2022, in particular the UN summit on the oceans to be held in June in Lisbon. The announcements from the recent summit in Brest are a promising sign of momentum.

During this first edition of the “One Ocean Summit”, two days of forums and workshops punctuated the debates prior to the meeting of the heads of state and government. Scientists, sailors, associations, entrepreneurs, local authorities and civil society exchanged their knowledge, experiences and points of view on the solutions to be adopted for a sustainably preserved ocean.
With one unanimous observation: we cannot protect what we do not know; it is therefore necessary to increase our knowledge of the ocean.

Scientists have been cooperating internationally for several decades, notably through UNESCO’s IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission). In order to pool their resources and carry out experiments at sea and research work, most major oceanographic projects are built on the principle of international cooperation.
Today, it is on the strength of the experience of these international programmes that scientists are alerting us to the deteriorating state of health of an ocean that is suffocating under the weight of human activities: overexploitation, pollution, acidification etc…

Despite this, we are still a long way from understanding the richness, diversity, functioning and all the mechanisms that govern our oceans. Society and all of its stakeholders must invest in oceanographic sciences over the long term. This is a necessity for better understanding, better action and better preservation.

Connecting science and society, an emergency

The challenges ahead to preserve a suffocating ocean are immense. And science is now telling us with certainty: it is high time to act!

We need to act quickly now and differently, to change some of our habits, to take a different path.
Science shows us the field of possibilities. It sheds light on this new path to be taken. But it will only be worthwhile if it is shared. It is therefore essential today to share knowledge, to share data, and to renew the dialogue between science and society.

Ocean sciences are a pillar of the science-education-protection triptych that must guide our actions. Innovative tools for training and education in oceanography must be developed at all levels and for all actors of our society.
The political decision itself must be taken with knowledge and consistency. In the long term, environmental education, and ocean education in particular, must help change mentalities.

This “One Ocean Summit” was an unprecedented opportunity for a strong affirmation of political will and multilateral maritime governance, in a post-pandemic world that must see the ocean in the long term. This is a very positive signal for the year 2022, which will put the ocean in the spotlight in many international political meetings, and which should see the concrete implementation of these “Brest Commitments”.

In the same vein, it is now urgent to connect science and society. We must ensure that scientific knowledge of the oceans becomes part of our common and shared culture of the oceans. This is the only way we will be able to collectively meet the challenges we face.

• Find out more about the “Brest Commitments”: www.oneoceansummit.fr
• Download the brochure “What is the use of oceanography?“