Bridging Science and Sustainability: Insights from the EAF-Nansen Programme at the UN Ocean Decade Conference
10-12 April 2024, Barcelona, Spain – UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission organized a conference to mark the fourth year of the UN Ocean Decade of Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). On the occasion, members of the global ocean community and partners attended a side event hosted by the EAF-Nansen Programme, showcasing its role and contributions towards the decade objectives.
“The EAF-Nansen Programme is a unique contribution to increasing the scientific knowledge of marine ecosystems, and Norway is very pleased that it has been recognized as a flagship for the UN Decade of Ocean Science,” said State Secretary Even Tronstad Sagebakken, who spoke on behalf of Cecile Myrseth, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Policy in Norway.
In his opening statement, Manuel Barange, Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division at FAO, noted that the Programme is not only a flagship for the Ocean Decade, but for FAO as well. “It plays a critical role in driving FAOs vision for Blue Transformation of aquatic food systems by bridging the science-to-management nexus.”
The research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen is at the center of the EAF-Nansen Programme, a longstanding partnership between FAO and Norway, executed in close collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR). The vessel's unique facilities and equipment serve as a platform for international cooperation between partner countries of the Programme.
“The Nansen Programme and IMR have been linked since 1975, and our collaboration with the partner countries has been instrumental in conducting comprehensive research surveys and building the capacity of local scientists,” concluded Nils Gunnar Kvamstø, Executive Director of IMR.
The UN Decade of Ocean Science has galvanized partners around the world to deliver “the science we need for the ocean we want”. At the Conference, hosted by the Government of Spain in Barcelona, thousands of people from across the globe came together to take stock of progress, and set priorities for the future.
The EAF-Nansen Programme side event “Science Serving Sustainability” focused on highlighting the work being done by partners to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the Ocean Decade initiative.
“It actively contributes to seven of the ten Ocean Decade Challenges,” said Merete Tandstad, EAF-Nansen Programme Coordinator, in her presentation on the aspirations of the new phase of the EAF-Nansen Programme (2024-2028), highlighting how its objectives are aligned with the mission of the UN Ocean Decade to generate transformative ocean science solutions for the ocean, while fostering connections between people and the ocean.
In a panel discussion, Rui Mutombene, a Senior Fisheries Researcher from the Mozambique Oceanographic Institute, Kwame Koranteng, former Director of Marine Fisheries Research in Ghana and a member of the Ocean Decade Africa Taskforce, Filomena Vaz Velho, General Director of the National Fisheries Research Institute in Angola, and Jared Bosire, Programme Manager at the UNEP Nairobi Convention and a member of the Ocean Decade Africa Taskforce, shared their thoughts and experiences from being involved in the Programme.
The discussions evolved around ocean health, with focus on how the implementation of an ecosystem approach can improve fisheries management, and examples of how the scientific knowledge on marine resources and ecosystems generated under the Programme, including on climate change impacts on fisheries, can be used. Furthermore, institutional opportunities and challenges for partner institutions to contribute to the Africa Roadmap for the UN Ocean Decade, were explored.
The event was moderated by Graça D’Almeida, Director of Resource Management at Ministry of Fisheries in Mozambique, and closing remarks were delivered by Vera Agostini, Deputy Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of FAO, who concluded that:
“To get the science we need for the ocean we want, imagination and hope is critical, and I can confidently say that this Programme has clearly fostered and facilitated that.”
Watch the recording of the event here: www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/6520/icode/
About the Programme
The EAF-Nansen Programme is a longstanding partnership between the FAO and Norway, executed in close collaboration with IMR. In collaboration with 32 countries across Africa and the Bay of Bengal, the Programme is improving fisheries policies and management practices in line with the ecosystem approach to fisheries and developing the capacity of fisheries institutions to ensure sustainable fisheries.
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