ONE OCEAN HUB

Newsletter

UPCOMING EVENTS
Shaping the Future of Ocean Research at University of Strathclyde & UN World Ocean Week events in New York
Shaping the Future of Ocean Research at University of Strathclyde

One Ocean Hub is entering its fifth and final year. We are therefore embarking on an exciting planning process for legacy strategies and solutions with our partners, interested individuals and organisations over the coming months. As part of the legacy planning process, the Hub is organising an event Shaping the Future of Ocean Research at University of Strathclyde on Tuesday, 2 May 2023, at 9:30 – 17:30 (BST).

Our events in New York during UN World Ocean Week

You are warmly invited to join our events (7 & 9 June) on innovative approaches for governments, scientists and civil society to respectfully engage with Indigenous and local knowledge in ocean research and governance. These events will contribute to celebrate UN World Ocean Day by reflecting on the need for inclusivity, equity and integrated approaches in the implementation of the new Agreement on biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), the FAO Guidelines on Small-scale Fisheries, other ocean governance frameworks and international human rights instruments.

NEWS
What we learnt at the closing of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture

The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA) was officially brought to a close at the end of March 2023, where various partners gathered at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to reflect on progress made and follow-up action to keep the momentum built in 2022. This blog post reflects on the contributions made by the One Ocean Hub in and around the IYAFA closing events, the insights that arose from our interactions with various IYAFA partners, and ideas for follow-up action. 

'Undercurrents: Art and Ocean in Africa and the Pacific' exhibition on show in Glasgow for a few more days!

The exhibition brings together new arts-based research that reveals human relationships and emotional connections with the ocean, produced by practitioners and grassroot organisations in Ghana, South Africa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The exhibition is on show at The Glasgow School of Art’s Reid Gallery until 29 April 2023.

Documentary film on artisanal fisherfolk songs screened in Glasgow

Cocooned in Harmony: Power, Agency and Multiple Realities in the Songs of Indigenous Ghanaian Seine Fisherfolk was recently screened at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow. The screening was followed by a Q&A with director Dr Eric Debrah Otchere (University of Cape Coast). The audience had questions about the complex and hidden meanings of the songs, the director’s process of building relationships with different communities, history and customs of the fishersfolks, gender and inter-generational dynamics, ocean governance and environmental challenges, and customary laws of fishers.

Other news...
  • Empty or livelihood space? Changing narratives about the ocean space and ocean defenders in the roll out of Blue Economy plans – READ HERE
  • Working with marginalised communities for more equitable ocean decision-making and other news from NamibiaREAD HERE 
  • Hub Director nominated Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellow – READ HERE
BLOGS
A Peace Pact with Nature: reflecting on the CBD COP15 and the new BBNJ agreement

What difference can the new Global Biodiversity Framework and the new agreement on ocean biodiversity make for the triple environmental crises and human rights? Former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, Prof John Knox, invited the One Ocean Hub, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and other experts to share their views on 13 March 2023 at a webinar organised by the American Society of International Law and the European Society of International Law (you can watch the recording here).

What does the 2022 UN Biodiversity Summit outcome on digital sequence​ information​ mean for the ocean and ocean research? (Part 2)

Following on from a previous blog post on the UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP15, held on 7-19 December 2022 - Montreal, Canada), this post reflects on the decision to establish a multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from ​digital sequence information (​DSI​)​, including a global fund, and its implications of for the ocean, ocean-dependent human rights and ocean research.​ In doing so, this post draws on the contributions from One Ocean Hub research to this process, as well as the work that remains outstanding, under the ​​Convention on Biological Diversity (​​CBD​​)​​, the World Health Organisation and the newly concluded international Agreement on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). ​

What do the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference outcomes mean for the ocean and ocean research? A focus on marine biodiversity and human health (Part 3)

Following a previous blog post on the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP 15, held on 7-19 December 2022 – Montreal, Canada) and a Lancet Comment on COP15, this blog post reflects on the implications of the COP15 discussions and decisions on human health and biodiversity for the ocean, ocean-dependent human rights and ocean research.

SPOTLIGHT ON:
EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS
History was made at a capacity building offshore cruise that executed the deepest lander dive in South Africa

A diverse team of scientists recently returned from a Hub funded month-long offshore expedition that advanced the capacity, technology, and multidisciplinary knowledge of early-career researchers and postgraduate students from South Africa and Namibia for the benefit of better management of South Africa’s oceans. The main aims of this research cruise were for to develop skills in offshore research, collect data to support their studies and to build the research teams that we need to solve the changes associated with developing a sustainable oceans economy.

Q&A with Kenneth Amankwaah Boateng (University of Cape Coast, Ghana)

Q: HOW HAS THE HUB ENHANCED YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS?

A: “Before enrolling in graduate school I was not clear that I wanted an academic career but through the Hub and working with Dr. Georgina Yaa Oduro, I have been guided, equipped, and galvanised to have enough authority on a subject that I have truly come to love.  I have been fortunate to be offered the frame to deliver presentations during the Hub’s recent workshop in Ghana to determine sustainable fishery management scenario and their social implications and Ghana Sociological and Anthropological Association.”

Working in a transdisciplinary team to understand climate vulnerability on recreational fishing in Namibia

The Namibian coast is renowned for its excellent angling opportunities, particularly in the central and northern coastal regions. Living in Henties Bay for the past two years, one can always tell when its holiday time as the town buzzes with activity from hundreds of local and foreign anglers filling up their cars, mounted with fishing rods and buying food and bait. This little town, approximately 70km from Swakopmund, is home to Namibia’s vibrant shore angling sector which is the bread and butter of the majority of the town’s inhabitants. 

MAKING HEADLINES
The Herald (UK): “The Glasgow research hub that’s facing up to marine pollution”
IOL (South Africa): Young marine scientists armed with new technology uncover deep ocean secrets
Scotsman (UK): Undercurrents - New exhibition at Glasgow School of Art