Based on the recommendations in the global implementation plan of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), members of the Southern Ocean community set up a Task Force to develop the Southern Ocean Action Plan. This Action Plan will provide a framework for Southern Ocean stakeholders to formulate and develop concrete activities that support the Decade vision.
To ensure this Action Plan represents the diverse perspectives and priorities of a wide range of Southern Ocean stakeholders, the Southern Ocean Task Force is now soliciting your input. Whether you are an early career professional or have an extensive background in polar activities, or you represent an institute, programme or initiative, your insights into how Southern Ocean science should evolve over the coming years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals will provide valuable information to develop an inclusive Action Plan.
Together with outputs from the First Southern Ocean Workshop, the Task Force collated strategic and scientific priorities from our individual implementation plans, together with those outlined in previous polar and Antarctic initiatives, including the SCAR Horizon Scan (2014), COMNAP Antarctic Roadmap Challenges (2016) and EU-PolarNet (2016). These are outlined in our report entitled 'Review of identified priorities for the Southern Ocean in the context of the UN Ocean Decade'.
We kindly ask that you read our report and complete the attached questionnaire no later than 23:59 UTC on 25 June 2021. We anticipate that it will take you about an hour to read the report and complete the survey. We encourage you to provide as much additional information you feel is relevant at the end of the survey.
The information that you provide will be used exclusively by the Southern Ocean Task Force to develop a Draft Southern Ocean Action Plan, which will be open for consultation at the 2nd Southern Ocean Regional Workshop in September 2021.
Thank you for taking the time to share your insights on the Southern Ocean contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.