(NEWS) WMU Contributes to ICES Annual Science Conference

September

2019

WMU Contributes to ICES Annual Science Conference

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Annual Conference took place in Gothenburg, Sweden from 9 to 12 September 2019. Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of the World Maritime University (WMU), delivered the opening session keynote address on “Setting the Scene for Science-Policy Needs and Challenges for Achieving SDG 14 from a Global Perspective.”

President Doumbia-Henry highlighted the impact of marine science for our collective understanding of the pivotal importance of oceans for life on Earth. “Science is now needed more than ever to help inform, guide and underpin the policies needed to reverse this cycle of decline in ocean health and regrow the blue economy. Likewise, science must be responsive to the needs of policy-makers and to ensure that the research undertaken is delivered in a form that is readily digestible by those in positions to effect policy change,” she said.

The opening session included a panel of experts, in which President Doumbia-Henry participated, and who critically analysed and illustrated the contribution that science can make towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 targets that focus on conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources. The panel addressed challenges and opportunities for science-policy interface and the interdisciplinary nature of the research needed to achieve not just SDG 14, but the SDG vision as a whole.

The four-day international event brought together about 700 ocean scientists to discuss a broad range of theme sessions from marine aquaculture to ecosystem vulnerability, and fishery management to exploration of the deep sea.

About ICES
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is an intergovernmental marine science organization, meeting societal needs for impartial evidence on the state and sustainable use of our seas and oceans. With a network of more than 5,000 scientists, their goal is to advance and share scientific understanding of marine ecosystems and the services they provide and to use this knowledge to generate state-of-the-art advice for meeting conservation, management, and sustainability goals.

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