The National Decade Committee for Belgium was officially established on 2 December 2022. It is composed of a core group and an open group as a sounding board. The core group aims for a balanced representation (federal, Flanders, Wallonia, politics, research, industry, NGOs, education…) to serve as a central hub linking and engaging national and local actors involved in the Oceans Decade. Aiming to promote “transformative and demand-driven” actions on the challenges of the Oceans Decade and to facilitate the contributions and involvement of local and national actors.
Are you based in Belgium and are participating in an Ocean Decade Action? Need guidance or you want to make the most of the Ocean Decade momentum? Do not hesitate to contact us.
The committee was established during a two-day open workshop 6-7 February 2023 with more than 70 participants, invited by the Danish Meteorological Institute and hosted at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen. The workshop concluded by agreeing on the Terms of Reference for the Committee, on the composition and members of the committee. This includes representatives from agencies and ministries from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, from research institutions, industry and organisations. A key outcome of the workshop has been the identification of nine thematic areas that will form the priority areas for the work of the committee. These are also part of the ToR for the Committee.
Steffen Malskaer Olsen
, National Center for Climate Research, Danish Meteorological Institute | Email:
smo@dmi.dk
Finland
The committee was established 2.6.2021. The task of the Finnish National Committee is to draft a plan of actions for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in Finland and to coordinate its implementation.
Download the Finnish National Implementation Plan for the Ocean Decade
Contact Point:
Jussi Soramäki
, Senior Ministerial Advisor, Maritime policy, Government Strategy Department | Email:
Jussi.Soramaki@gov.fi
France
The French National Decade Committee was launched on 7 December 2021. It brings together scientists, academics, representatives from the Government, civil society, NGOs, private sector companies, etc. in marine science and technology, thus covering many areas of expertise. Its role is to coordinate national activities as part of the Ocean Decade, to mobilize the French marine science and technology community to take part to the Decade, to disseminate information and to provide documentary resources on the challenges and issues of the Decade to the various stakeholders and citizens in order to rally them and motivate them to get involved in Decade activities.
Website:
Commission Océanographique Intergouvernementale
Contact Point:
Olivier Bousquet
, Chargé de mission océan et climat,
Ministère de la Transition Écologique | Email:
olivier.bousquet@developpement-durable.gouv.fr
Germany
The National Committee (Ozean Dekadenkomitee) was created in the second half of 2020, allowing National Committee members to engage and shape the evolution of the Decade and its implementation in Germany early in the process. The Committee was formally established by the German IOC committee and members of the National Committee were drawn by an open application process from academia, non-profits, government, policy, early careers and industry, comprising a well-rounded body of expertise across multiple groups relevant to the Decade.
The National Committee will hold its launch meeting in June 2021 after the international launch event with the ambition to promote the Decade in Germany and engage participation from all sectors. The National Committee is developing a national action plan and established eight subgroups to facilitate engagement and action towards the Decade objectives. The National Committee website features some generic information about the Decade and will increasingly incorporate announcements made by the National Committee Members, upcoming events, opportunities for early-career professional and youth involvement, Q&A features of those engaged with the Decade, and a list of National Committee members.
Website:
Ozean Dekadenkomitee
Link
to List of Members
Contact Point:
Ulrike Heine
, Science Officer
, Deutsches Komitee der UN-Ozeandekade (ODK) · GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
| Email:
kontaktstelle@ozeandekade.de
uheine@geomar.de
Ireland
Contact Points:
Fiona Grant
, International Programmes, Marine Institute | Email:
Fiona.Grant@Marine.ie
Laura McDonagh
, International Programmes, Marine Institute | Email:
Laura.McDonagh@Marine.ie
Italy
The National Committee was created in the second half of 2021, allowing its members to engage and shape the evolution of the Decade and its implementation in Italy early in the process. The Comitato Nazionale Per il Decennio del Mare in Italia (CND-IT) promotes the objectives and opportunities of the UN Ocean Decade, encouraging and facilitating national contributions to Decade actions, also through the submission of proposals. It favours the participation of different typologies of stakeholders (including Academy, institutions Public, companies, associations and civil society) and free access to information and data, decision-making instruments based on science and / or opportunities for knowledge transfer and development of skills.
List of endorsed Decade Actions submitted by Italian Organisations:
IT-NAVY HIGH NORTH PROGRAM
The Science We Need for the Mediterranean Sea We Want
The Current III “The Mediterraneans: “Thus waves come in pairs”
CoastPredict – Observing and Predicting the Global Coastal Ocean
Digital innovation Hand-in-Hand with fisheries and ecosystems scientific monitoring
Ocean Literacy With All (OLWA): the change we need for the ocean we want
Website:
Contact Point:
Rosalia Santoleri
, Chair of the Italian Oceanographic Commission | Email:
segreteria.coi@cnr.it
Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint-Maarten
Contact Point:
Maarten Heijnen
, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management | Email:
maarten.heijnen@minienw.nl
Norway
The National Committee of Norway was established on World Ocean’s Day in 2021. The committee represents central ocean communities in Norway, drawn from the fields of research, business sector, NGOs, communication, and public sphere.
The committee’s work builds on a plan for national Ocean Decade priorities. The priorities were formed by an expert group and launched in October 2020 with the document “The UN Decade of Ocean Science. Proposed priority areas for Norway”.
The proposed priority areas are:
Climate and environment interactions
Holistic ocean governance
Healthy and safe seafood for all
Renewable energy from the ocean
Environmentally friendly maritime transport
An ocean of data
Who owns the ocean?
Keeping the Artic as one
Global ocean economy and development aid
Everyone understands the ocean!
For the coming period the committees work is centered around activities that increases awareness of, and mobilizes to, the Ocean Decade, with special emphasis on the business sector. Ocean Literacy is also a central area for the committee with several planned activities ahead.
Read more about the committee:
Read the national priority plan:
Website:
The Research Council of Norway’s Ocean Secretariat
Link
to proposed priority areas for Norwegian efforts.
Contact Points:
Mette Mila
, Senior Advisor, The Ocean Secretariat, The Research Council of Norway | Email:
mlm@forskningsradet.no
Geir Huse
, Research Director, Institute of Marine Research | Email:
geir.huse@hi.no
Portugal
The Portuguese National Committee for the Decade of the Ocean (CNDO), was created in March 8, 2023, by a joint Diploma from 8 ministers: Foreign Affairs; National Defence; Economy and the Sea; Science, Technology and Higher Education; Education; Environment and Climate Action;  Agriculture and Food; and Finances.  The Committee’s mission is to promote and coordinate Portugal’s action to achieve the objectives of the Ocean Decade, with a particular vision for the Atlantic, closely related to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, especially with regard to SDG 14.
The Committee, reports directly to the members of the Government responsible for Foreign Affairs, the Sea, and Science, Technology and Higher Education, and is coordinated by Luís Menezes Pinheiro (Chair of the Portuguese Committee for the IOC), and two deputy coordinators, Maria João Bebianno and Telmo Carvalho.
The Committee is suppor
ted by an Advisory
Committee that includes: (1) 7 representatives from the governmental areas of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, the Sea, Science, Educatio
n,
Environment and Food; (2) 3 representatives from the Directorate-General for Foreign Policy, Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, and the National Science Foundation; (3) 3 personalities of recognized merit; and a Forum of Stakeholders, involving a large number of representatives from academia and research institutes, national laboratories, NGOs, foundations and the private sector.
The work of the committee is also supported by a Technical Secretariat. The Committee works in conjunction with the National Committee for the IOC/UNESCO and it is based at the Portuguese Committee for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (CP-COI) in the Palácio das Necessidades, and benefits from administrative and logistical support from the General Secretariat for the Economy.
Visit the website
here
, and follow the Committee on LinkedIn
here
Contact point:
Luís Menezes Pinheiro
, Chair of the Portuguese Committee for the IOC | Email:
lmp@ua.pt
Russian Federation
Contact Point:
Sergey Shapovalov
Head of the Center for Coordination of Ocean Research | Email:
smshap@ocean.ru
Slovenia
The Slovenian National Decade Committee has been established and approved by the Slovenian National Commission of UNESCO at its meeting on August 2, 2021.
The National Decade Committee (NDC) acts as an expert and advisory body for the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO. The tasks of the NDC include in particular:
– advising the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO on issues related to the UN Ocean Decade 2021-2030: Oceanography for Sustainable Development;
– proposing and coordinating programmes and activities in the framework of the Ocean Decade (in cooperation with the National Committee of the IOC and the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO);
– bringing together national stakeholders and coordinating their proposals for the Ocean Decade;
– ensuring the implementation of the adopted Ocean Decade Action Programme (in cooperation with the IOC National Committee and the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO);
– participating in international activities of the Ocean Decade;
– ensuring publicity of the Ocean Decade among the interested public (in cooperation with the National Committee of the IOC and the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO).
The NDC reports annually on its work to the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO. The term of office of the NDC members is for the duration of the Ocean Decade, 2021-2030.
Contact Point:
Vesna Flander-Putrle
, National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station Piran
| Email:
vesna.flanderputrle@nib.si
Spain
Contact Point:
Rafael González-Quirós Fernández
Director of the Oceanographic Center of Gijon | Email:
rafael.gonzalez-quiros@ieo.csic.es
Sweden
In 2021 the Swedish government commissioned Formas, a government research council for sustainable development, to establish and host the National Committee for the Decade. The members in the committee represent national agencies of relevance for ocean, waters, polar regions, climate and international cooperation, marine researchers and NGOs. The largest annual event takes place on World Ocean Day, that will be arranged for the third time, June 8
th
2022.
In parallel, the government has also commissioned Formas to carry out a 10-year national research program on ocean and waters that will enable synergies with implementation of the Decade.
Sweden will contribute to the implementation of the Decade, nationally and internationally by:
Strengthen cooperation between different actors in marine research and innovation.
Strengthen the coordination of investments in marine research and innovation.
Disseminate, make available and utilize research and innovation generated by the Decade.
Raise knowledge and awareness of the significance of the seas and ocean.
Develop exchanges and collaborations between Swedish and international actors and initiatives.
Continue to be a committed member of the IOC- Unesco
Information about the committee and activities are presented on a website.
National Committee for the UN Decade of Ocean Science
Contact Point:
John Tumpane
, Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas) | Email:
john.tumpane@formas.se
Türkiye
Türkiye National Decade Committee is created in the first half of 2021 and works for gathering ideas and catalyzing support for the Decade. Members of the National Committee are comprised a well-rounded body of expertise across multiple agencies and institutes relevant to the Decade. It is drawn from universities, ministries and scientific experts. These experts are largely drawn from the marine sciences communities. The Committee held a kick-off event in 24 August 2021 with participation from different sectors for supporting and announcing the Decade.
Generic information about the Decade on our official website:
(in Turkish)
Contact Point:
LtJG Furkan YAMAN
, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Office Of Navigation, Hydrography and Oceanography | Email:
yaman.f5441@dzkk.tsk.t
United Kingdom
Ocean Decade UK, the UK’s National Decade Committee, was appointed in 2021 to facilitate UK engagement with the UN Ocean Decade. With government representatives and members from across the breadth of ocean disciplines, the Committee includes established researchers and several early career ocean professionals all coming together to champion the UN Ocean Decade.
Ocean Decade UK’s mission statement is ‘
To amplify the UK’s collective voice in accelerating transformational ocean science to facilitate the delivery of clean, healthy and resilient, productive, predicted, safe, accessible, inspiring and engaging oceans and seas’
. The Committee aims to promote and enable a whole of UK society approach to the Ocean Decade by supporting UK Government and their representatives to the IOC, engaging with the ocean science community and broader society to help inspire and facilitate opportunities within the Decade.
UK researchers and institutions are contributing to a variety of Ocean Decade Actions including the Nutrient Pollution Global Action Network, Global Ocean Decade Programme for Blue Carbon (GO-BC), Joint Exploration of the Twilight Zone Ocean Network and Digital Twins of the Ocean and Seabed 2030.
You can find more information on the website of the UK National Decade Committee:
uk-ndc.org
Contact Points:
Matt Frost
, NDC Chair
| Email:
mafr@pml.ac.uk
Suzanne Painting
, NDC Secretariat
| Email:
ndc.secretariat@cefas.gov.uk