Oceans Dialogue at the Nature Positive Summit last week

A team of scientists attended the Oceans Dialogue at the Nature Positive Summit 18 Oct 2024 in Sydney hosted by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). The aim of the Oceans Dialogue was to elicit input into the Sustainable Oceans Plan.

The Ocean Dialogue focused on sustainable ocean management in Australia, as well as in a regional and global context and brought together:

• First Nations people
• representatives from all levels of government
• ocean industries
• researchers
• non-government organisations
• representatives from the Indo-Pacific
• the community.

The Sustainable Ocean Plan is one of Australia’s commitments as a member of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. It is a high level document aimed at identifying a shared vision to guide ocean management efforts. Implementation of the plan will require collective action across many facets of society.

CSIRO researchers Mibu Fischer, Karen Evans, Rowan Trebilco, Alistair Hobday, Piers Dunstan, and Megan Saunders attended the event, with Mibu and Alistair participating as panel speakers on Knowledge facilitated by John Gunn. The panelist spoke about what baseline data was needed to implement the plan, with majority of panelists talking about the need for greater data transparency and access, which then transformed into a full room discussion.