In a previous post an uncomfortable reality was highlighted: that the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) has, so far, delivered more branding than transformation. Despite much initial hyping, it has really failed to deliver on its promises so far.
That may sound harsh. But halfway through the decade, its biggest outputs are still just workshops, endorsement logos, and strategy documents rather than the kind of structural changes ocean science actually needs.
But the good news? The decade isn’t over yet.
Moreover, the problems with the Ocean Decade aren’t mysterious or unsolvable. In fact, the fixes are both obvious and easy. It just requires something international ocean policy has historically struggled with: real money and actual implementation.
Therefore, here’s a practical roadmap for how to salvage the Ocean Decade before 2030.
1. Create a meaningful ocean science fund
The biggest structural flaw in the Decade is simple: it has no large central funding mechanism. The program is coordinated by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, but it mostly endorses projects rather than funding them. That’s not how you run a global scientific transformation.
A fix would be the creation of a Global Ocean Science Fund, directly supported by significant contributions from governments, development banks, and philanthropic foundations.
A $1–2 billion multilateral fund contributed by U.N. members would dramatically change what the Ocean Decade could accomplish.
This might seem an incredible amount to scientists used to grants in the thousands or tens of thousands, but the news is constantly talking about Governments allocating a billion dollars for this project, a billion dollars for that project, as if it were nothing. For example, what is happening in Iran at the moment is costing just one government (i.e., the U.S.A) over a billion dollars a day.
Right now, most ocean science programs are trying to run global observing systems on the equivalent of spare change found down the side of the couch cushions.
2. Build a true global ocean observing system
If there’s one thing the Ocean Decade should deliver, it’s data. Currently, ocean observations are patchy, uneven, and heavily concentrated in the North Atlantic and specific parts of the Pacific. Entire regions (particularly in the Global South) are still poorly monitored. The framework already exists in the Global Ocean Observing System. But it needs to scale up dramatically.
That means investing in:
- thousands of new autonomous floats and gliders;
- expanded coastal monitoring stations;
- permanent deep-ocean observatories;
- integrated satellite and in situ data systems.
3. Ships not slidedecks – fund research infrastructure
Ocean science runs on infrastructure: ships, sensors, submersibles, moorings, and autonomous vehicles. But these cost money, and they don’t magically appear because someone held a nice workshop about them. A serious Ocean Decade would include:
- research vessel renewal programs;
- shared international fleets for developing regions;
- expanded access to deep-sea submersibles; and
- long-term maintenance funding for observing networks.
Currently, many national scientific fleets are aging, and ship time is one of the most oversubscribed resources in marine science. You can’t explore the ocean if your ships are stuck in drydock waiting for budget approvals.
4. Invest in scientists, not just technology
The ocean science workforce is small compared with most other scientific disciplines. In many parts of the world, marine scientists simply don’t have stable career pathways. If the Ocean Decade wants to build global capacity, it needs to fund:
- fellowships for early-career scientists;
- regional training centers;
- long-term research positions in coastal states; and
- collaborative research networks.
Programs run through organizations such as the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research already demonstrate how effective these networks can be. But they’re operating on tiny budgets compared to what is needed.
5. Make ocean data truly open
Another quiet but persistent barrier in ocean science is data fragmentation. Different countries and institutions collect enormous volumes of ocean data. However, access to this data is inconsistent, formats vary, and datasets can be hard to discover or access.
The Decade should be building something like a ‘global ocean data commons’. Not just more repositories, but an integrated platform where you can easily gather: observations; models; biodiversity data; fisheries data; and satellite data (free of charge or for a nominal fee to high income countries).
There are already good foundations, such as the Ocean Biodiversity Information System and the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange. But they need resources and integration.
6. Stop measuring success by the number of meetings !!!
One of the quiet pathologies of international science programs is conference inflation. Every initiative produces meetings, working groups, consultations, and panels. Some of these are genuinely useful. However, the success of the Ocean Decade should not be measured by the number of conferences held, projects endorsed or reports produced.
Instead it should be should be measured by metrics such as:
- kilometers of ocean monitored;
- sensors deployed;
- new long-term datasets created;
- new scientists trained; and
- ocean infrastructure built.
7. Treat the Ocean Like Planetary Infrastructure
At the moment, the Artemis expedition is generating a huge amount of public interest, passion and positivity towards space science (although a shocking number a flat earthers and moon landing deniers are also coming out of the woodwork). Good for them.
But here’s the uncomfortable comparison. Governments spend tens of billions each year exploring space. Meanwhile, the ocean (which regulates the climate, supports global fisheries, and produces half the oxygen we breathe) gets a tiny fraction of that investment.
For example, the annual NASA budget is $24.4 billion. The budget for NSF Geosciences Directorate (which includes the Division of Ocean Sciences and the national Arctic and Antarctic research programs) is $1.58 billion (which includes funding for PhD fellowships and the Antarctic bases). The NOAA budget for ocean research is just $250 – $500 million.
Imagine if we treated ocean science like we treat space agencies such as NASA or European Space Agency. Instead, we’re still trying to piece together global observing systems from relatively tiny, short-term grants.
But there still time…
The Ocean Decade runs until 2030. That means there are still five years left to make it meaningful. But salvaging the Decade requires a shift in mindset:
- from coordination to investment;
- from endorsement to infrastructure; and
- from workshops to working observing systems.
Because the ocean doesn’t particularly care about our declarations. It responds to physics, chemistry, and biology.
If we want to understand (and protect) the largest ecosystem on Earth, we’re going to need more than a logo and a decade-long slogan. We’re going to need the tools (and money!) to actually study the ocean.