Special Session     Thu-31 Jul     AM1   08:30 – 10:00     MR2

SS03: Joint effort for implementing UN Ocean Decade endorsed MoNITOR project to achieve an increased oceanic resilience by mitigating natural incidences

Under the background of global climate change, marine natural disasters occur frequently, bringing huge challenges to the marine ecological environment and human society. On June 8, 2023, the "Mitigation of Natural Incidence Towards an increased Oceanic Resilience" (MoNITOR) project was endorsed as a project of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Since the project was endorsed, MoNITOR has achieved many accomplishments. The MoNITOR project provides a scientific basis for the protection and sustainable use of marine resources, clarifies the process and mechanism of changes in the coastal ecological environment, makes marine ecological environment data accessible and predictable, finds sustainable marine development solutions and puts them into practice to achieve marine environmental health enhancement. At the same time, it improves the credibility of coastal models and promotes their application in predicting the ecological environment of coastal areas around the world.

In order to promote international cooperation in marine ecological environment monitoring and prediction among global coastal cities. We hereby apply for a special session at the AOGS 2025, which aims to serve the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The session brings together experts and scholars from these regions to share the latest research findings and technologies in marine ecological environment monitoring. Discussions will center on strengthening cooperation in areas such as data sharing, technology innovation, and capacity building to jointly address the challenges of marine environmental protection and sustainable development. By enhancing international cooperation, this special session will contribute to the improvement of marine ecological environment monitoring and prediction capabilities, and play an active role in promoting the sustainable use and protection of the ocean.

Session Chair/Moderator
Yuntao WANG, Second Institute of Oceanography, MNR
yuntao.wang@sio.org.cn

Dr Yuntao Wang serves as the director of the Office of International Affair at the Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (SIO/MNR), and the deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics. He has taken the lead in undertaking the United Nations "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" endorsed project "Mitigation of Natural Incidence Towards an increased Oceanic Resilience (MoNITOR)". Additionally, he serves as an expert of the UN Ocean Decade Strategic Communication Group and a member of international advisory committee for the UNESCO Justice, Equitiy, Diversity and Inclusive (JEDI) initiative. To ensure the smooth implementation of the MoNITOR project, a kick-off meeting was held in Qingdao, China in September 2023. In April 2024, two events on "MoNITOR" organized by Dr. Yuntao Wang were respectively held at the 2024 United Nations Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona, Spain and during the second United Nations Decade of Ocean regional conference & the 11th UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Western Pacific Sub-Commission International Ocean Science Conference (WESTPAC International Ocean Science Conference). In September 2023, the 2023 Global Ocean Summit was held. In July 2023, seminar on China-Africa marine science and blue economy cooperation was held in Qingdao, China. In February 2024, the fifth China-Africa Marine Science and Technology Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. In April 2024, the Yunqi 2050 United Nations Ocean Decade youth forum was held. In September 2024, the 60th meeting of the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) was held in Hangzhou, China. In addition to international conferences, many international training courses have also been held, such as the international training course on the principles and applications of BGC-Argo, the international training course on the application of marine ecological environment remote sensing and three-dimensional monitoring technology, and the international training course on three-dimensional monitoring of marine and coastal ecological environment and disasters in small island developing countries.