The Our Ocean 2019 conference kicked off on Tuesday 22nd October in Oslo, Norway. Delegates were invited to the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art where we were inspired by a range of diverting artworks and an a capella rendering of a traditional Norwegian welcoming song:
When Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Søreide took the stage, we got more than just an upbeat speech about the oceans; she announced that Norway would commit US$253 million to floating wind farm development in partnership with energy giant Equinor. Such commitments are a core part of the Our Ocean conferences. This one in Oslo is the sixth in the series of annual events.
The conference in Bali, Indonesia, last year chalked up 305 tangible and measurable commitments along with US$10.7 billion in monetary commitments and an additional 14 million square kilometres of marine protected areas (MPAs). These are significant wins for the ocean, and the tally of commitments is expected to increase significantly this week. The world is taking note of what transpires at these events.
An overarching theme of Our Ocean conferences is that partnerships between NGOs, governments, industry and communities are needed to realise change. When the conference officially opened, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg got right to the point with her welcoming comments, saying that we cannot choose between ocean industry and ocean ecosystems – we must have sustainable solutions that allow for both to prosper. Finding such solutions is a goal for all ocean managers and scientists.
Our Ocean conferences include a plenary session where keynote speeches and commitments are announced plus side events where specific topics are focused on. In the plenary we heard an emotional appeal for action to protect the ocean from UNICEF youth ambassador Penelope Lea. Hans-Otto Pörtner of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminded us that global warming is really global ocean warming because the ocean absorbs 90% of excess heat retained due to greenhouse gases. Gabriella Bianchi from the Institute of Marine Research explained that while fisheries are not sustainably managed in developing countries, this is due to over-exploitation by developed countries, which points to the need for better regulation of the global seafood trade. These are just a few examples of the many compelling speeches we heard.
At one side event, Katrine Nissen of the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) Secretariat referred to the recently released “Desktop Study on Marine Litter” authored by Joan Fabres and other folks here at GRID-Arendal. During one lunch we met to discuss small island developing states and GRID’s Miles Macmillan-Lawler discussed our work applying earth observation technology to maritime boundaries, marine spatial planning and coastal inundation modelling.
The final day of Our Ocean began with a speech by HRH Crown Prince Håkon of Norway.
“Before I die, I want to see the ocean back in balance”
he said. I think everyone in the room agreed with that sentiment. The Our Ocean conferences won’t solve all of the ocean’s problems, but they are definitely a step in the right direction.
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