Solutions for coastal communities post COVID
Is investing in coastal and marine ecosystem restoration and protection the way to stimulate the blue economy post COVID-19? This was one of the questions in a special parallel session on coastal communities at the 2021 SDG Conference Bergen.
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Organised by Professor Lise Øvreås the parallel session led to three policy recommendations presented in a special session bringing together scientific advice for policy makers at the close of Day 1 of the 2021 SDG Conference Bergen.
Ocean science after the pandemic
“The ocean has a wellspring of solutions to build back better. Ocean science will play an important role in the post pandemic recovery. One way can be investing in coastal and marine ecosystems,” said Professor Lise Øvreås, who is also Scientific Director of Ocean Sustainability Bergen at the University of Bergen.
The panel consisted of researchers and ocean professionals from around the world and was moderated by Professor Ragnhild Overå from the University of Bergen. Broadcast from Grieghallen in the heart of Bergen with the panellists present virtually via video.
The time is right for multilateralism
“Ocean communities should be included in post pandemic recovery plans. Coming at a time of resurgent nationalism, this is the time to stress multilateralism. Countries must harmonize work on global ocean governance,” said Professor John Kurien from the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, India, making an explicit reference to UN Decade for Ocean Science.
He also represented the World Fish Centre in Penang, Malaysia, with which researchers from the University of Bergen and Norway’s Institute of Marine Research have long scientific collaborations with.
Others in the panel, such as the Executive Director of the European Marine Board, Professor Sheila Heymans, and Professor Ratana Chuenpagdee from the Memorial University in Newfoundland echoed Kurien, including an important message pointing to small-scale fisheries as “solutions” for ocean sustainability.
Concluding parallel session 6
So, how does inequality post COVID-19 affect coastal communities? One of the aims from the six special parallel sessions at the 2021 SDG Conference Bergen was to make recommendations for policy makers.
Marine Director Amund Maage from the University of Bergen was tasked with summing up the findings of the coastal communities session and take this forward to a plenary session bringing together recommendations from across the parallel sessions.
FACTS
Three policy recommendations
- The importance of resilience in local coastal communities in times of crisis. Many coastal communities have opened up to tourism to add to the income from fish trade. When a crisis such as COVID-19 strikes it is even more important that small scale fisheries still have access to markets. This must be prioritized to avoid these communities being hit by an economic crisis.
- The importance of ocean literacy, often old traditional knowledge. The local small-scale fishermen and women can also be a very important part of what we call citizen science, part of the monitoring of nature.
- Importance of fair access to data. This goes for both industrial and less industrialised countries. Data must be made open as part of a digital revolution. There is a danger that those who have competence and technology will use data to increase their possibilities to harvest resources from the ocean. We must unite behind partnership in line with SDG17, Partnerships for the Goals.
