11 September 2019: The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) has launched its 2030 Strategy, which focuses on delivering ocean information across operational services and on climate and ocean health. The Strategy aims to build a GOOS to respond to society’s increasing needs of ocean data and knowledge for sustainable development.

According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the value of ocean observation is “constantly increasing” and ocean observations are critical to improving early warnings of droughts, floods and severe storms. In addition, a growing global population needs more information on the state of marine ecosystems, given their role in providing food security, jobs and livelihoods and energy. UNESCO emphasizes that understanding the “real value of marine ecosystem services,” which are estimated to be between $US3-6 trillion annually, is essential to informing policies on the sustainable development of an ocean economy. Consequently, a wider group of users are now using ocean observation data to inform policies and strategies.

In response, the GOOS Strategy for 2030 seeks to deliver an integrated global ocean observations system that will respond to the needs of the international community and provide essential information for the sustainable development, well-being, prosperity and safety of the world’s oceans. In an introductory video on the Strategy, UNESCO highlights changes facing the world’s oceans, including climate change, pollution, over-fishing and other human pressures, which are degrading the marine environment. Further, the video highlights that economic losses from natural disasters are at “record levels and are expected to increase.” The video states that ocean observations can forecast climate and ocean variability and highlights the role of ocean observations in informing policy for the benefit of society. The video then showcases the role of the global ocean observing system in providing this essential information.

The Strategy argues that an expanded global ocean observing system that meets the requirements of a broad group of users is critical to ensure that sustainable development, the blue economy and resilience efforts are based on “more than guesswork.”

The Strategy stresses that current ocean observation efforts “fall well short of what will be required” and calls for “greater knowledge based on continuous ocean observations” to better understand climate change and variability and ocean, weather and environmental hazards. The Strategy promotes a GOOS that captures physical, chemical, biological and ecological ocean properties from local to global coastal scales and integrates information on human pressures. The Strategy argues that an expanded global ocean observing system that meets the requirements of a broad group of users is critical to ensure that sustainable development, the blue economy and resilience efforts are based on “more than guesswork.” The Strategy envisions a GOOS in 2030 that is “responsive to the needs of end users” and provides critical ocean information needed to generate a suite of improved environmental forecasts, protect ocean health, mitigate and adapt to climate change and support sustainable growth. The Strategy emphasizes the role of new partnerships and participation of all nations in achieving such a GOOS by 2030.

The GOOS Strategy for 2030 is complemented by an Implementation Plan, which is open for contributions. GOOS also plans to add priority actions and new ideas to support the 2030 objective following the ‘OceanObs’19,’ an international conference on ocean observations that takes place once a decade. The Conference will convene from 16-20 September 2019 and offers an opportunity to provide feedback on the GOOS Strategy and Implementation Plan. Information from the global ocean observing system will be publicly available.

GOOS is a joint programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) and the International Science Council. [UNESCO Press Release] [GOOS Website] [GOOS Strategy]