Kategorie: News
Pioneering plan to rebuild the world's depleted oceans
Ocean us, a new international foundation, today launches a landmark plan to rebuild the world's depleted oceans with the message that conservation alone is no longer enough to reverse the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on our planet.
The initiative has been developed over a five-year period in the belief that this planetary repair can only be driven by science and society, which must be empowered. Ocean us is supported by a number of the world's leading marine scientists. These include the well-known marine ecologist Carlos M. Duarte as Scientific Director and the renowned coral reef expert and former Yale professor Nancy Knowlton. The advisory board also includes experts from other disciplines, including Steven Pinker, professor at Harvard University, Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University, Diane Damskey, expert in impact investing, and Douglas Heintzmann from the Blockchain Research Institute Toronto, Canada.
With "Radical Hope", Ocean us stands for a new zeitgeist that decisively counters the largely negative global discourse on the climate and biodiversity crisis. Ocean us starts with a fundamental change: the foundation wants to stop the negative spiral in which we currently find ourselves and in which everything is being reduced, and restart the positive spiral of life, its abundance and diversity. This is also reflected in the foundation's logo, which represents the so-called Fibonacci sequence. It is intended to symbolise the exponential rebuilding work of the oceans that Ocean us is driving forward. Linda Neugebauer, the founder of Ocean us, has a clear message:
"The current state of the oceans is a game changer. It is no longer enough to conserve what little is left. We need to be much more ambitious. We need to restore the diversity and richness of the oceans, which form the basis of all life on Earth. It is time to finally recognise that the ocean is our most important ally in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. And it is the responsibility of today's adults to build the first sustainable generation whose only foundation is a healthy ocean."
New global data and network infrastructure for planetary repair
The vision of Ocean us is "ocean completeness", which goes beyond resilience. It is about restoring biodiversity as the basis for a fully functioning ocean to ensure our sustainable future. To achieve this, Ocean us is taking a pioneering approach from the outset by creating a new global data and network infrastructure to guide this planetary repair. The aim is to improve scientific collaboration, coordinate research, conduct meta-analyses and use data effectively to guide and manage the successful rebuilding of the ocean ecosystem.
Six global projects to rebuild the world's oceans
Ocean us has set itself the goal of rebuilding all major ocean components by 2050: nine in number. These components keep the entire ocean functioning. The foundation has therefore developed six global projects that cover all nine components: The rebuilding of coral reefs, blue forests and native oyster reefs; the regeneration of megafauna and fish stocks; and the expansion of knowledge about and protection of the deep sea. All global projects are to be implemented by 2030.
Due to the dramatic urgency, "Global Coral Restoration" was launched as the first global project, a restoration plan on a planetary scale to prevent the currently predicted functional extinction of coral habitats. The aim is to restore 9 million square metres of damaged coral reefs worldwide by 2030, around nine times more than the largest project to date.
In the first phase, Ocean us is working with CORDAP to advance, implement and scale up science and technology for high-impact restoration methods that increase the resilience of corals to temperature extremes. Special emphasis is placed on building capacity and empowering local communities and indigenous peoples.
To raise global awareness of the worrying state of coral reefs, Ocean us is launching the global "Last Call for Beauty" campaign in collaboration with the international agency McCann Germany in June. The aim is to raise 40 million euros for the realisation of the "Global Coral Restoration" project. The campaign can already rely on the commitment of large companies.
Ocean Impact Fund with an investment target of 1 billion euros by 2030
Ocean us' pioneering plan also promotes new funding opportunities, as the ocean is alarmingly underfunded. In addition, Ocean us is pioneering "Philanthropy 5.0", a new concept that integrates technological advances and a holistic approach to solving global challenges, with the aim of promoting deeper and more sustainable social change. The aim is for donors to become "owners of the impact" through hybrid financing models. To this end, Ocean us will launch the Ocean Impact Fund this year, which aims to mobilise up to €1 billion in investment for ocean restoration by 2030.
Funding to date has initially been secured by founder Linda Neugebauer and the support of generous private donors. Recently, the foundation also received support and a donation from H.S.H. Prince Hans-Adam II, the Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, and LGT, the private banking and asset management group owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein.
For more information about Ocean us' plan to rebuild the world's oceans within a generation, visit https://oceanus.life/.