A deep knowledge of our relation to the ocean to better protect it
The decade for the ocean, i.e. the programme “United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” , whose implementation plan will be officially presented at the end of this year, will be realized from 2021 to 2030 and devoted to the protection of seas and oceans, to the blue growth and the socio-economic development based on the many different resources offered by the ocean, whose sustainability is provided by a robust scientific knowledge of our continuous relation
The Ocean Literacy initiative launched by IOC-UNESCO that organised the first olsummit highlighted the importance of analysing our close relation with this essential ecosystem of our planet.
There are still many large areas of our ocean that are unknown or less explored. New scientific knowledge is needed to protect more efficiently our marine and coastal ecosystems that provide us useful goods and services but are at risk of degradation and loss of biodiversity.
The active involvement of all of us in taking care of the ocean is at the core of the Ocean Literacy initiative, as it promotes the circulation of good practices and the elaboration of strategies based on better scientific evidence able to influence future research and innovation agendas for the protection of the ocean and encourage young people to become oceanographers or entrepreneurs in the blue economy.
ISPRA contributes to the Ocean Literacy activities with its national programmes of environmental education on the marine and coastal ecosystems and taking part in the international working group established by the European network on operational oceanography EuroGOOS (http://eurogoos.eu/ocean-literacy/).