Advancing human right to science through capacity building for deep sea research
One Ocean Hub Research Programme 4 has been endorsed as a Decade Action project (No. 89.2) forming part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. One Ocean Hub Research Programme 4 is a strand of the One Ocean Hub , an international programme of transdisciplinary research for sustainable development. Focusing on the human right to science through capacity building for deep sea science in the South-East Atlantic the new endorsed Decade Action aims to advance understanding of offshore marine biodiversity through new deep-water surveys in one of the world’s most poorly known ecosystems. It will advance knowledge of environmental changes on deep-sea biodiversity and develop new methods to visualise and predict the distribution of species and habitats and of multiple threats to stimulate various management scenarios. Tools, knowledge and other outputs generated by One Ocean Hub Research Programme 4 will build capacity and promote equitable data sharing.
One Ocean Hub Research Programme 4 will be attached to Decade Programme “Challenger 150 – A Decade to Study Deep-Sea Life”. Challenger 150 is a global cooperative aims ‘to advance understanding of the diversity, distribution, function and services provided by deep-ocean biota; and to use this new knowledge to educate, inspire, and promote better management and sustainable use of the deep ocean’ (See Ocean Decade, 2022).
One Ocean Hub subverts current inequities in deep sea science, by supporting partnerships and capacity building for deep sea science in low-and-middle income countries, specifically Namibia and South Africa, to advance understanding of South-East Atlantic deep-sea ecosystems and their contribution to human well-being. The Hub is fostering transdisciplinary approaches that integrate different knowledge systems in ocean science, ensuring that the human right to science is available and beneficial to all by working with stakeholders to co-develop solutions that are fit for purpose for use in low-and-middle income countries countries.
