The science we need for the ocean we want

The decade 2021-2030 has been declared the Ocean Decade by the United Nations. The purpose of this decade is to gather knowledge we need to make the ocean clean, healthy, safe and accessible. Within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the National Ocean Decade Committee has now been established, as a link between the UN's Ocean Decade organisation and the national network of public and private stakeholders involved in the ocean.

The committee consists of a group of independent ocean experts, well representing the diverse expertise within ocean science, including marine researcher Francesca Sangiorgi and historian Erik de Lange of Utrecht University.

Erik de Lange: "As a historian, I contribute by showing how the handling of the ocean has evolved through the past and how past exploitation of the ocean continues into the present. I hope to let the traditions of cooperation and shared responsibility that characterise Dutch maritime history also serve as inspiration for the challenges we face today."

The ocean and its importance must become better known to everyone

One of the goals of the Ocean Decade is to promote general knowledge about the ocean and encourage ocean education. Sangiorgi: "As a scientist I do research on the ocean's role in climate and ecosystems, as a marine science teacher I try to explain to a new generation of students the importance of a (healthy) ocean. The ocean and its importance need to become better known, to everyone. If you know how essential the ocean is, you also make sure it is doing well."