![]() The international community must invest towards this end as, in a few years, these individuals will make crucial decisions in local and parliamentary elections that will likely determine the planet’s future. The representative of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, noting the Institute’s role as a regional knowledge hub, also underlined the importance of empowering youth with scientific knowledge to allow them to decide what they can do to mitigate and adapt to environmental changes. The representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis, one such voice, highlighted the importance of ocean literacy and detailed her country’s programmes to ensure that all stakeholders - including children - are aware of marine species, resources and general marine ecology, as well as how to interact responsibly with the same. He also noted that, in 2024, the Foundation will convene a global islands summit in Tokyo to hear the voices of small island developing States. Recognizing that, the representative of The Nippon Foundation said that his organization will develop human-resource capacity for young researchers from small island developing States, also training administrative officers from such States in ocean governance. This paradigm shift would acknowledge that the definition of such States as “small” land masses does not account for their immense contribution to adaptation and conservation measures and would raise awareness that there are vast, untapped ocean resources that must be better understood. While those living on small islands are under threat from a phenomenon they did not cause, he said that they are more than victims as there is much opportunity in these parts of the world.Īlong those lines, Melvin Turnbull, Minister for Natural Resources and Labour of the British Virgin Islands, called for a reclassification of small island developing States’ economies as large ocean States. Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu, Minister for Culture, Environment and Marine Resources of French Polynesia, pointed out that the Non-Self-Governing Territory is committed to preserving a coastal zone for small-scale and subsistence fishing equivalent to the surface area of France. “There is nothing small about small-scale fishers,” he stressed, because they have the global reach and knowledge to reshape humanity’s relationship with the ocean. On that point, the representative of Blue Ventures said that fishers are the best scientists of the ocean but are rarely represented in decision-making. For example, he pointed out that many small-scale fishing groups present at this Conference have knowledge to contribute. The international community must break free from top-down, hierarchical systems of knowledge to enable the co-creation of ocean knowledge. The representative of the International Science Council, emphasizing that ocean actors “must be able to find each other”, said that solutions must be shared in real-time, unimpeded by language or technology barriers. “We need to stop working in isolation,” stressed the representative of Communidad y Bioversidad, adding that technology is crucial for breaking digital divides and ensuring equitable opportunities for all. ![]() Similarly, the representative of the International Seabed Authority - tasked with managing the deep seabed on the basis of equality between States - said that the Authority ensures equitable access to resources and knowledge relating to the deep seabed, which covers more than half of the ocean floor. The representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) provided a tangible example of this kind of partnership, detailing the Commission’s efforts to help local governments and organizations measure and monitor plastic waste using innovations such as artificial intelligence, satellite imaging and waste-flow monitoring. ![]() As such, she called for stronger cooperation in scientific data collection and said that the importance of such collaboration should be reflected in the Conference’s outcome document. ![]() The representative of Nauru, while highlighting the unique sustainable-development challenges facing her small island developing State, emphasized the ocean’s importance not just for ocean States, but for all of humanity. LISBON, 30 June - Scientific collaboration and knowledge-sharing is essential to protecting humanity’s shared ocean heritage, speakers stressed on the fourth day of the 2022 Ocean Conference, also spotlighting the need to broaden participation in decision-making to include voices in policy negotiations that - while often overlooked - possess unique experiences and capabilities. Focus on Role of Youth, Small-Scale Fishers in Decision-making ![]()
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