Earth’s oceans are being severely damaged by climate change, pollution, overfishing and other destructive, human-caused shock waves.
To restore the oceans, and prevent their health from deteriorating further, decision makers and knowledge creators around the world must act together, and quickly—hence the theme of this year’s UN World Oceans Day: “Revitalization: collective action for the oceans.”
We asked IOF researchers how their research contributes to collective action for ocean health, what they have found are the biggest roadblocks to collaboration between groups, and how we can overcome these obstacles.
Dr. Nicola Smith
Dr. Nicola Smith, a Liber Ero postdoctoral fellow with the Changing Ocean Research Unit at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF), has been connecting with diverse groups across Canada for her latest project.
She is working with IOF Director Dr. William Cheung, IOF Professor Dr. Rashid Sumaila, and the Tula Foundation, a charitable organization, to uncover the true scale of greenhouse gas emissions created by Canada’s ocean industries, and ways to best offset these emissions.
“Although we cover some sectors very well, like marine shipping and offshore oil and gas extraction, other sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture are missing from this puzzle,” Dr. Smith said.
Understanding the size of the problem is the first step in a larger project that will help Canada reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Dr. Smith will work with the Canadian government, academics, NGOs, Indigenous groups and interest groups to outline a series of options that the government can choose from to cut emissions.
These “portfolios” will provide the government with an overview of a variety of net zero strategies, which differ depending on whether the country wants to save money, minimize legal hurdles, or get the job done as quickly as possible, among others.
“Some strategies give us money when we implement them, for instance, marine renewable energies, but other strategies require us to put money in to get to net zero, such as carbon capture and storage,” she said.
One of the most challenging parts of the project will be bringing a diverse group of people with different areas of expertise and different priorities to the table to achieve consensus on how to build the different paths to net zero.
Right now, Dr. Smith is working on a plain language summary document that will help everyone “start on the same page.”
“It’s like creating an alphabet we’ll use to have a common language,” she said.
“This problem is enormous, and it requires all hands on deck to solve it. The great thing about having a collaborative effort is that different groups bring different values and perspectives to the table. We want to make sure the solution reflects the diversity of values and perspectives that make up Canada.”