A transparent Ocean with open information and technologies access Building-up a transparent ocean providing Marine data and information for All

The Oceans are Crying, and People are Dying” (Sharlene DaBreo, 2020). We need to act with urgency to protect life and livelihoods from Ocean related threats. It means moving beyond business as usual, in terms of both actions and outcomes, for a true revolution in ocean science in support of long-lasting impacts. To meet its ambition, the UN Ocean Decade is to harness and stimulate innovative ocean research, from co- design to co-delivery, to achieve a safe ocean, as well as to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This virtual session of the UN Decade Ocean Western Tropical Atlantic series, will result in a short regional discussion paper that will include recommendation on the availability of open access to data, information, and new affordable open-source technologies, to integrate earth system/social sciences, and cross sectoral participation to share resources, mobilize constituencies for national policy and community decision-making processes, and reduce the asymmetry between the countries in the region, including the island states.

This could include the identification of priority issues and recommendations for the development of regional actions to develop and build capacity for an information access system for data sharing and interoperability, available to the public for specific products and services tailored to different stakeholder needs, and understandable for the general community.

These short regional discussions papers (in English and Spanish) will be prepared in close collaboration with the co-conveners of the regional session and contribute to the Western Tropical Atlantic Action Plan.