How to Achieve a Healthy and Resilient Ocean in the Southern Ocean Region
10 March 2022, 10:30am - 12:00pm CET
The Southern Ocean plays a key role in regulating global climate, and providing a range of other important ecosystem services, including unique and iconic biodiversity and fisheries. It is thus imperative to address urgent knowledge gaps and generate interdisciplinary and co-produced knowledge on the key drivers of change and their impacts on Southern Ocean species, ecosystems and processes, including ecosystem services.
As part of this global effort to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health, a Working Group has been set up as part of the Southern Ocean process to identify the needs of the Southern Ocean community to maintain a Healthy and Resilient Ocean where marine ecosystems are understood and managed.
This Working Group has been tasked with identifying tangible actions and deliverables to overcome Southern Ocean challenges related to marine ecosystems. WG2 identified research challenges focused on 4 themes, including (i) improving our understanding of key drivers of change and their impacts on Southern Ocean species and ecosystems, (ii) relevance of Southern Hemisphere ice in ecological processes of the Southern Ocean, (iii) understanding the biogeochemical processes of the Southern Ocean linked to sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves and air, and (iv) understanding of the Southern Ocean’s role within the Earth’s climate system.
Our Satellite Activity at the Healthy & Resilient Ocean Laboratory aims to further engage a wider range of stakeholders beyond those that have been involved in the activities of the Southern Ocean Action Plan activities to date by convening a panel discussion with key stakeholder representatives from science, industry and policy. This satellite activity hopes to provide new partnerships with these organisations and bring the outputs of the UN Southern Ocean Decade to a higher level of engagement.
Draft Agenda
Hosts: The Southern Ocean Task Force
Moderators: Chairs of Working Group 2 on “How to achieve a Healthy and Resilient Ocean”
- José Xavier (University of Coimbra)
- Sally Lau (James Cook University)
Panelists:
Andrew Constable (Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Integrating Climate and Ecosystems Dynamic programme – ICED)
Annette Bombosch (Co-founder of the Polar Citizen Science Collective)
Birgit Njåstad (Chair of the Committee for Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty)
Javier Arata (Executive Officer at the Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies)
Key audience: Multidisciplinary audiences with different backgrounds encompassing tourist cruise operators, fishery and environmental agencies, academics, educators, engineers, NGOs, stakeholders.
Timing: 10 March 2022, 10:30 – 12:00 pm CET