Between 15-17 November 2017 the COST action in Ocean Governance for Sustainability: Challenges, Options and the Role of Science E-COST CA15217 organised an international symposium in La Laguna University, Tenerife Spain.
The meeting consisted of plenary sessions, working group sessions and a management committee meeting (MCM). Ongoing research in the field was presented during the plenary sessions as well as during the working group sessions, and these stimulated a lot of interesting discussion and concrete actions for future collaborative work. The two MC members from Malta are Dr Charles Galdies (right) from the Institute of Earth Systems (University of Malta) and Dr Alicia Said (left) from the Institute of Applied Sciences (Malta Centre for Arts, Science and Technology).
This E-COST network aims to establish an integrative vision, and a series of approaches that informs research and future policy directions on crosscutting sustainability-driven issues related to the fragmented governance framework of oceans, seas and coastlines within regional waters, and the open ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This COST Action has established synergistic issue-driven working groups to look at Europe’s position and role in global ocean governance. Its network creates a distinct multi-scalar and cross-sectoral platform for institutional partners across academia, policymaking and civil society, presenting inclusive spaces for transdisciplinary dialogue, capacity development and the advancement of practical toolkits that attend to science-policy gaps inherent within integrated ocean and coastal governance.
The action is being led by four working groups focussing on Land-Sea Interaction, Area-based Management, Seabed Resource Management, Nutrition Security and Food Systems, Ocean Climate and Acidification, and Fisheries Governance. Several short-term scientific missions and research papers are being planned and supported by these working groups.
E-COST CA15217 has its own news portal: www.oceangov.eu/news.