21 April 2021 saw the launch of the Second World Ocean Assessment (WOA II), the latest report of the only integrated assessment of the world’s ocean covering environmental, economic and social aspects. It is the major output of the second cycle of the UN Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the States of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects (UN Regular Process). Building on the first cycle, which focused on establishing a baseline for measuring the state of the marine environment, the second cycle evaluates trends in the physical and chemical state of the ocean and identifies information gaps.
WOA II is the collective work of hundreds of scientists and interdisciplinary writing teams across the globe. It provides scientific information on the state of the marine environment in a comprehensive and integrated manner to support decisions and actions for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goal 14, as well as the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
The G7 FSOI and the World Ocean Assessment
The G7 FSOI has set a priority action to support an enhanced system of ocean assessment through the UN Regular Process. The G7 FSOI is working to identify ways and means to strengthen the synergies between the ocean observing communities and the World Ocean Assessment. This includes using the WOA to identify knowledge and observing system gaps and mobilising the observing and research communities to fill them. The G7 FSOI, led by the EU4OceanObs G7 FSOI Action Coordinator, is also working with the UN Regular Process, the IOC-UNESCO, the Copernicus Marine Service, and other global partners to explore the needs for and existing elements of an indicator framework that provides science-based tools for understanding global ocean changes and interactions with the Earth system.
Useful links
- To download WOA II, click here.
- To watch the replay of WOA II launch event, click here.
- Webinar “Strengthening the science-policy interface for ocean sustainability”, in preparation for WOA II launch
- Link to first WOA