A first step

What does success look like for Australia’s ocean stakeholders?

Australians have a deep connection to the ocean. As an island nation on the blue planet, it is no surprise that there are hundreds of organisations, institutions, communities and individuals invested in using, valuing, managing and governing the ocean. We work and play, explore and enjoy our ocean. Our lives are interconnected with its ubiquitous influence, write Cay-Leigh Bartnicke and Emily Jateff.

Australian stakeholders in the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development met at the museum in March 2021. Image Andrew Frolows/ANMM

The museum is proud to partner with Ocean Decade Australia to support collaborative engagement and decision-making

IN MARCH, the museum hosted the first Australian stakeholders’ meeting for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030, in collaboration with Ocean Decade Australia. The event consisted of two separate panels. The first comprised an overview of the project’s issues with Karen Evans (CSIRO) and Kim Picard (Geoscience Australia) in conversation with Jas Chambers. The second event entailed a panel with key stakeholders across industry, government and private institutions. Jas, Karen and Kim are the brains behind Ocean Decade Australia, a collaborative volunteer initiative that recognises that Australia’s ocean stakeholders are diverse – we come from every sector and industry and we interact with the ocean in multiple ways. The museum is proud to partner with Ocean Decade Australia on events like this stakeholder meeting to support collaborative engagement and decision-making across all sectors.

The second round of panellists spoke of the speed at which change needs to come. These high-level and knowledgeable operators included Veronica Papacosta, CEO of Seafood Industry Agency; Miranda Taylor, CEO of Energy Resources Australia; Sue Barrell, Vice President of Science and Technology Australia; Tony Worby, CEO of the Flourishing Oceans initiative – Mindaroo Foundation; Amy Low, Brand and Marketing Director for fashion house Piping Hot; and Blair Palese, Global Climate Editor for Climate and Capital Media. Encouragingly, while acknowledging the considerable work that needs to be done, these industry leaders unanimously wanted to promote the urgency of enacting change and of moving forward with evidence-based discussions. With many different interests represented, panellists stayed on topic and views were discussed fairly by regularly referencing science-informed strategies. The conversation returned again and again to the idea that we need a dramatic transformation to occur as a societal and economic overhaul rather than a comfortable progression forward. We can no longer afford to be comfortable.

The temperature of the ocean is ramping up. This year, the environmental issues we are experiencing globally are the result of choices made years or even decades ago due to a system called ‘feedback’. Even with today’s increased shipping, manufacturing, air travel and unsustainable fishing we are not yet directly experiencing the fallout from our own choices – but our children may. In line with the 2020 Paris Agreement, countries are not required to submit reports on environmental progress until 2024 – including initiatives for the ocean. By the time reports are assessed and feedback handed out, we will likely be half-way into the Ocean Decade. This only gives nations five years to act on feedback from the first round before the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development is complete. Time is of the essence, and we all need to do our part. Representation is a hot-button topic and that is where the next phase of this journey will be heading for Ocean Decade Australia. In this first meeting, representatives of government and industry groups provided background on their role in contributing to a broad understanding of Ocean Decade-related international objectives for a clean, predictable, transparent, sustainable, healthy and safe ocean (for more on UN Decade objectives see Emily Jateff’s article in Signals 133, or oceandecade.org/). The second Ocean Decade Australia stakeholders’ meeting will include more representation from youth, grassroots and community leaders. This is an exciting expansion to the future of these discussions. Being face-to-face for this meeting was also in itself an achievement, after an extended quiet period of Zoom calls and digital mingling. Organisers Jas Chambers, Kim Picard and Karen Evans estimate the audience numbers at well over 350 from across numerous fields, including energy, finance, primary industries, education, research, fashion, communications and the creative sector. The meeting was recorded and is available on the Ocean Decade Australia website: oceandecadeaustralia.org/ Time moves quickly; people move slowly. But with a successful first Ocean Decade Australia stakeholders’ meeting under our belts, we are off to a great start.

The museum would like to thank Jas Chambers for her input and advice.

Cay-Leigh Bartnicke is the museum’s Assistant Curator for Special Projects and Emily Jateff is Curator of Ocean Science and Technology.