The 2022 East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum, with the theme “Embrace the Ocean Decade for a Shared Future”, took place in Qingdao West Coast New Area, China, on 21-23 June 2022 as a hybrid event and brought together a multi-sector community of researchers, economists, artists and entrepreneurs from countries and regions around the world. This grand event deepened exchanges and cooperation in marine economy, science and technology, culture and environmental protection.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of China and Shandong Provincial People’s Government, hosted by the Department of International Cooperation of MNR and Qingdao Municipal People’s Government, and organized by the Management Committee of Qingdao West Coast New Area, the Forum focused on the sustainable development of the global ocean in line with the seven outcomes of the UN Ocean Decade and consisted of ten parts: one plenary session, seven side events, one Contest (Finals of Global Marine Tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest) and East Asia Marine Expo.
The plenary session held the opening ceremony, in which Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), introduced the progress of the Ocean Decade and announced the endorsement of the Decade Collaborative Centre on Ocean-Climate Nexus/Coordination Amongst Partners in P. R. China (DCC-OCC). The Centre is hosted by the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO) of MNR, with the support from two international organizations and three research institutes of MNR. It is one of the first DCCs endorsed by the IOC and will be based in Qingdao. The goal of the DCC-OCC is to gather scientific knowledge and results in the field of ocean and climate at the programmatic level and coordinate activities of Chinese Decade Implementing Partners within the framework of the Ocean Decade.
Dr. Ryabinin expressed the hope that global warming will be limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial ages by the year 2100. To this end, two new Decade Programmes were recently endorsed which are both initiated by China. One is the “Ocean to Climate Seamless Forecasting System” (OSF) led by FIO, and the other is the “Global Ocean Negative Carbon Emission” (Global ONCE) led by Xiamen University. Their success will be huge contributions to the resolution of the climate dilemma.
Dr. Ryabinin elaborated that the Ocean Decade has been focusing on the most important issues like climate change, and IOC is going to build a network of DCCs and Decade Collaborative Offices. In addition, we are moving forward towards the sustainable development and the ocean we want, and are also striving to achieve a climate we need for a better living environment.
Speaking at the plenary session, Professor Fangli Qiao, member of the Decade Advisory Board (DAB) and Co-Chairman of IOC-WESTPAC, illustrated the newly endorsed Decade Programme, “Ocean to climate Seamless Forecasting System” (OSF), which is designed to provide ocean-based solutions for global ocean governance and climate change.
OSF builds on very recent series of scientific, observational and computational breakthroughs and aims to dramatically improve forecasting capability for the ocean and climate. During its implementation, satellites will be launched, new-generation drifting buoys will be deployed, transformative theories and schemes on ocean turbulence and air-sea interactions will be formulated, and a seamless ocean-to-climate forecasting system will be developed. OSF will help fill the gap between days forecasting and the short-term (several months to years) climate prediction. Together with all international partners, OSF strives to significantly improve ocean and climate prediction capabilities, and provide high-quality products and services to the international community.
Seven side events also took place during this three-day Forum: Forum on the UN Ocean Decade and the Marine Environmental Governance, China Ocean Engineering Scientific and Technological Innovation Forum, Forum on Marine Processes, Resources and Environment, Blue International Cooperative Entrepreneur & Young Scientist Forum, East Asia Seaport Alliance Conference, International Seaweed and Health Industry Forum, East Asia Marine Culture and Tourism Development Forum.
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About the FIO:
The First Institute of Oceanography (FIO), established in 1958, is a non-profit marine research institute overseen by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of China. The vision of FIO is: “Be the leader of the world innovations on ocean science and technology; Be the provider of scientific solutions for the global sustainable development”. FIO’s missions are implementing basic and applied research on oceanography and public service, and providing technical support for sustainable ocean management. FIO’s current key research areas range from coastal to open oceans, and from tropics to polar regions. Scientists in FIO conduct research in marine science and numerical modeling, marine environmental geology, marine hazards forecasting, air-sea interaction and climate change, protection of marine eco-environment, and protection and sustainable use of islands and coastal zones, etc. FIO has been actively engaging in promoting research in ocean science and technology, and continues to providing science-based support for ocean management both domestically and abroad.
As ocean science is global, FIO, since its establishment, has been actively involved in international cooperation on ocean science and technology and has established strong collaborative initiatives with over 50 agencies from more than 30 countries. In addition, ten international offices and cooperation platforms are now located in or jointly hosted by FIO. FIO has two advanced Research Vessels, being 4,981 and 2,272 tonnage, respectively, and possesses a variety of ocean sampling equipment and analytical instruments. FIO has been hosting the Ocean Data Center of National Natural Science Foundation of China since 2013, and also hosts the China Ocean Sample Repository which archives all kinds of sediment samples collected from open ocean and coastal research cruises. Moreover, FIO plays a key role in promoting oceanography education and raising public awareness of marine science.
Website: http://en.fio.org.cn
Contact Information:
Li Li, Director of International Cooperation Department, FIO
6 Xian-xia-ling Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao, China
Email: Li.Li@fio.org.cn