GES4SEAS at the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Declaration signing event

In Washington, D.C. on 13 July, the European Union, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cabo Verde, Morocco, South Africa and the United States signed a new All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Declaration. AZTI researcher María C. Uyarra attended the event and spoke on behalf of GES4SEAS project. GES4SEAS is coordinated by AZTI and will officially start on September 2022.

GES4SEAS in the framework of the Alliance

The GES4SEAS project (Achieving Good Environmental Status For Maintaining Ecosystem Services by Assessing Integrated Impacts of Cumulative Pressures) aims to inform and guide competent authorities in the field of marine management on how to reconcile the reduction of human pressures and their effects on biodiversity with the maintenance of the provision of ecosystem services (e.g. food, raw materials, etc.).

To this end, GES4SEAS will develop a tool that will help predict and assess the combined effects of different human pressures (including climate change) on marine biodiversity, applicable anywhere in the world. This tool will guide towards a management adapted to each location (local, national, regional or international), helping to achieve good environmental status of the marine environment. All this makes the project strategic for the Alliance.
Along with GES4SEAS, three other projects SABRES, BIOCEAN5D and EPOC participated in the event.

The Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance and the Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Declaration

The new All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Declaration will continue the successful journey of ocean science diplomacy and set a common path forward for ocean research cooperation in the Atlantic, from Pole to Pole, for the next decade. Through this new strategic course, the Atlantic partners will join forces to tackle the most pressing challenges the basin is facing, including climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, ecosystem protection and restoration, and sustainable and inclusive ocean economies while contributing to the objectives of the European Green Deal and A stronger Europe in the world, and the international dimension of the EU Atlantic Action Plan 2.0.

The Declaration will seek to:

1. Increase our understanding of the relationship between the ocean and climate, and to develop outcome-oriented science for mitigating and adapting to its consequences
2. Monitor, protect and restore marine ecosystems and biodiversity, thereby enhancing their resilience and potential for adaptation to climate change and other natural and anthropogenic stressors
3. Tackle the impacts of marine pollution, including plastics, on marine species and ecosystems
4. Develop innovative, outcome-oriented science to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
5. Coordinate Atlantic Ocean observing and seabed mapping efforts and improve modeling capacities
6. Promote circular, sustainable and inclusive ocean economies
7. Promote ocean literacy and broaden engagement in ocean sciences and ocean sustainability

The Alliance is an outstanding example of the EU Global Approach to Research and Innovation, supporting the advancement of fundamental and fit-for-purpose knowledge through free-exchange of ideas and the co-creation of solutions with the EU’s international partners.