Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Canada has the longest coastline of any one country in the world. Although our waters and marine ecosystems were safeguarded by coastal Indigenous communities for millenia, increased industrial and agricultural activities over the last 200 years have led to climate change and negatively affected ocean health - leading to ocean warming, acidification, marine pollution, and biodiversity loss.  Across the planet, it is the oceans that connect us. Water is life - we depend on the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; produce oxygen; feed humans and animals; and provide employment for nearly 50% of the entire global population, from fisheries to tourism. We must recognize that by harming the oceans, we are actually harming ourselves. With the livelihoods, well-being, and cultures of so many coastal communities in Canada intimately tied to the ocean, it is imperative that we contribute to international dialogue, research, and action to change attitudes towards the ocean and restore its health. 

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) is an international initiative to build ocean knowledge and encourage marine conservation efforts globally. UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was mandated by the UN General Assembly to coordinate the implementation of the Decade. CCUNESCO has a 9-member expert working group to discuss key issues, share knowledge and offer perspectives from Canada within international forums relevant to the Ocean Decade.

Project Highlights

CCUNESCO is currently leading a project titled Community Engaged Ocean Science in Canada endorsed by the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme (CHFP) of the Ocean Decade. In alignment with the CHFP’s aim to see diverse histories and cultural heritage integrated into ocean science and policy, CCUNESCO’s project studies ocean science research and programmes that are co-designed and co-delivered with or led by Indigenous coastal communities in Canada. The project examines how embedding food security, culture, and community health considerations within research and marine conservation programmes serves to advance both conservation and sustainable development objectives.

Given that Western science has historically put the needs of people before the environment, while many Indigenous knowledge systems recognize the inherent rights of the ocean, one of CCUNESCO’s priorities during the Decade is to promote, showcase and encourage a different kind of relationship to the ocean that is based on reciprocity and respect.

In April 2024, CCUNESCO's Ocean Decade working group partnered with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and The Pacific Community to deliver a panel, “Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Community-Engaged Ocean Science” at the UN Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona. Recognizing the need to work across borders and oceans in partnership with Indigenous communities, this collaboration provided an international platform for Indigenous knowledge holders from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, highlighting innovative Indigenous-led approaches to marine governance and management, and outlining models of meaningful engagement for the science community. Indigenous ways of knowing and being can complement Western scientific knowledge to create new realities based on sustainable living and reciprocal relationships, and this is crucial in taking action to protect the planet that sustains us.

Learn more:

• Video: Watch the panel on Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Community-Engaged Ocean Science [3:54:00-5:15:00] at the UN Ocean Decade Conference (2024) 
• Paper: Towards a new ocean science: engaging with culture to promote sustainable development (2022)
• Paper: Our Civic Relationship with the Ocean in Canada (2020)