The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNDOSSD) officially began on 1 January 2021. Until the end of 2030 – and let's hope afterwards as well –, we are joining forces worldwide to achieve the 14th sustainable development goal (SDG 14: ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’). UNDOSSD is also aimed at achieving other ocean-related SDGs such as combating climate change and preventing the loss of biodiversity.
The competent authorities mandated VLIZ to organise a secretariat so as to coordinate the Flemish and Belgian contribution to the Decade of Ocean Science. This so-called Belgium National Decade Committee (NDC-BE) consists of an open meeting and a core group. The core group is tasked with addressing the Ocean Decade challenges with reforming actions. The group consists of government and civil society representatives as well as research and innovation actors, and is open to anyone who would like to participate with concrete contributions. NDC-BE was officially launched with the first meeting of the core group in May 2023.
For its activities, NDC-BE works closely together with the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) in Paris, which has been mandated by the United Nations to implement the Ocean Decade.
In 2023, the UNDOSSD announced a new wave of actions and partners. They subscribe to and support the jointly adopted objectives: “strive for more marine science and knowledge to achieve a sustainable ocean by 2030”. Numerous actions and institutions from Flanders received this recognition as well. Examples include the Brilliant Marine Research Idea (BMRI) grant – an initiative by the VLIZ philanthropic project ‘The sea as a good cause’ – which is considered a contribution to the promotion of research. The UN also considers the VLIZ Marine Science Day (VMSD) as an activity to promote marine and coastal sciences and bring (young) scientists in contact with other sectors and actors.
VLIZ has been formally recognised as a ‘Decade Implementing Partner (DIP)’ because of its commitment to supporting the UN Decade of Ocean Science by coordinating actions, catalysing initiatives, leading targeted communication and outreach as well as mobilising resources.
VLIZ is one of the eleven globally recognised DIPs, and also provides support to 3 other DIPs: the European Marine Board, EMODnet and JPI Oceans.
Within the scope of the UNDOSSD, VLIZ, Blue Cluster and the department of Economy, Science and Innovation jointly published an updated version of the brochure ‘Gearing up our blue knowledge – Tackling ocean challenges in the UN Decade of Ocean Science’ in 2023. This brochure demonstrates the strength, diversity and potential of the Flemish innovation landscape and documents how Flanders makes use of the sea to meet its sustainability targets.