Abstract
Ocean science is central in providing evidence for the implementation of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. The Convention’s provisions on transfer of marine technology to developing countries aim at strengthening scientific capabilities to promote equitable opportunities for these countries to exercise rights and obligations in managing the marine environment. Decades after the adoption of the Convention, these provisions are under implemented, despite the efforts of international organizations, such as IOC-UNESCO. Latin America and the Caribbean struggle to conduct marine scientific research and seize the opportunities of blue economy due to the limited access to state-of-the-art technology. Ocean science communities in these countries are subject to constraints not foreseeing in international treaties, such as unstable exchange rates, taxation, fees for transportation, costs of maintenance and calibration of technology, challenges to comply with technical standards, and intellectual property rights. Action is needed to overcome these challenges by promoting a closer tie between science and diplomacy. We discuss that this interplay between science and international relations, as we frame science diplomacy, can inform on how to progress in allowing countries in this region to develop relevant research and implement the Convention. We provide concrete examples of this transfer of marine technology and ways forward, in particular in the context of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030).
Highlights
For the past decades, as the same time as scientific discoveries allowed us to acknowledge the critical importance of the ocean to our livelihood, it was significant to demonstrate the serious consequences of anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment threatening this life-supporting system (Rockström et al, 2009)
Profiting from the opportunity presented by the implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), we propose recommendations that could leverage the implementation of the legal rights and obligations on transfer of marine technologies reducing global inequalities in the access and use of marine technologies
The uneven participation of researchers from Latin America and the Caribbean in global ocean assessments show that this consensus might be reflecting views from a narrow group of scientists, lacking inclusivity (IOCUNESCO, 2020a; Tessnow-von Wysocki and Vadrot, 2020)
Summary
As the same time as scientific discoveries allowed us to acknowledge the critical importance of the ocean to our livelihood, it was significant to demonstrate the serious consequences of anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment threatening this life-supporting system (Rockström et al, 2009). As the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development makes its debut, this paper seeks to assist it by discussing current limitations hampering countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from. With the increasing significance of environmental and ocean related discussions in international fora, scientists are called to provide evidence on life-threatening issues, such as natural and human induced hazards or food security and pollution. Ocean knowledge production depends upon the access and application of available marine technologies. Accessing marine technologies is critical to develop ocean research that can provide evidence to decision-making
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