Ireland’s commitment to strategic partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS), through Our Shared Ocean was highlighted throughout the UN Ocean Decade Conference, which took place in Barcelona last week.

In her opening remarks to the Conference, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay thanked Ireland for its overall contribution to Small Island Developing States and the growing impact of the Our Shared Ocean Programme within the Ocean Decade in reference to the co-creation of a training course for Caribbean (SIDS) that will focus on the principle Co-Design.

In the closing plenary session, Director of Policy Innovation and Research Support Services at the Marine Institute, Niall McDonough addressed delegates to introduce the Programme and to pledge further commitments to SIDS in support of existing project teams and initiatives.

During the closing session of the conference, Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, unveiled the Barcelona Statement, a crucial roadmap for the coming years which identifies the areas where ocean solutions must be accelerated. He highlighted Our Shared Ocean’s pledge of additional funding through Irish Aid & the Marine Institute, as one of the major commitments of the Barcelona Statement, which places an emphasis on cross-cutting issues that must be addressed to ensure the success of the Ocean Decade.

In the closing plenary session of the the UN Ocean Decade Conference, Director of Policy Innovation and Research Support Services at the Marine Institute, Niall McDonough addressed delegates to introduce the Programme and to pledge further commitments to SIDS in support of existing project teams and initiatives

Through Ireland’s development cooperation programme, Irish Aid, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Marine Institute have established ‘Our Shared Ocean’ to support research, knowledge exchange and capacity building in partnership with SIDS. The programme will run until December 2026 with a total investment of €3.8 million funded by the DFA, and administered by the Marine Institute.

Our Shared Ocean will establish and grow research partnerships between Irish institutions and international counterparts, providing research and technical support to assist eligible SIDS in addressing specific ocean and climate-related challenges within one of three thematic pillars:

• Oceans & Climate Action
• Inclusive and Sustainable Blue Economy
• Marine Policy & Ocean Governance

Our Shared Ocean was endorsed as a Decade Action in 2023 and has worked in collaboration with the Ocean Decade team since to develop an online training course in the principles of Co-Design with Caribbean partners. Co-Design is often highlighted as a key barrier to SIDS accessing international developmental Aid.

Key announcements at the UN Ocean Decade Conference

Our Shared Ocean has consistently endeavoured to remove such barriers including, increased eligibility of SIDS nations and Directly Funding projects within SIDS institutions.

While attending the conference, the Our Shared Ocean team co-hosted an event on ‘Co-Design within the Ocean Decade’ to highlight the importance of Co-Design in developing effective solutions to critical ocean and environmental challenges.

The Our Shared Ocean funding programme, specifically designed to build strategic research partnerships between Ireland and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), has launched a suite of competitive calls to support capacity building in eligible SIDS partner countries in the areas of oceans and climate action; inclusive and sustainable blue-economy and marine Policy; and ocean governance.

The multi-annual collaboration launched last year, funded by Irish Aid and administered by the Marine Institute, will provide €3.8 million over the next five years to facilitate partnerships on ocean-related issues.

Our Shared Ocean is part of Ireland’s response to the challenges facing many SIDS, recognising that our fellow islanders are on the front line of the impact of climate change and vulnerable in particular to sea-level rise and extreme weather events.

It also recognises the important role of SIDS in relation to global ocean governance and their capacity to develop innovative responses to these challenges.

The programme, the first of its kind by Ireland to engage strategically with developing island states, aims to leverage existing national marine research capabilities and expertise to empower the SIDS with the skills and opportunity to tackle local marine issues.

Following an extensive stakeholder consultation which included conversations with representatives and research scientists in over 20 countries from the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, the project team now invite joint research applications (Irish and SIDS partners) to develop MSc scholarships, research fellowships or project awards. Also on offer are travel and mobility grants to facilitate eligible SIDS student participation in international conferences and workshops.

Our Shared Ocean research topics reflect stakeholder feedback and are focussed on the most relevant challenges and opportunities facing our oceans today. These include, but are not limited to, blue carbon; coastal engineering; climate resilience; coastal and marine management; ocean economy; digital technology; and marine education and communication.

The grants are intended to provide research training opportunities for scientists in oceanography, marine engineering and related marine science, social science and humanities disciplines. The Our Shared Ocean Team can also discuss your research and how it addresses the challenges identified in the programme. Contact [email protected] or @OurSharedOcean on Twitter for more information.

Minister for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming said: “Our Shared Ocean reflects Ireland’s commitment to deepening our partnership with Small Island Development States and ensuring we are championing responses to the issues they face. This important programme builds strategic research partnerships between Ireland and Small Island Developing States on issues related to oceans.”

Paul Connolly, chief executive of the Marine Institute added: "Without a shared understanding of the challenges facing the marine environment, there cannot be shared solutions.

“We are privileged to have spoken to inspiring scientists around the world, from multiple research disciplines, who are making a real difference to how we think about, use and manage our shared ocean space on a local and regional scale.

“We have listened to these critical ocean stakeholders, to become aware of the unique set of environmental and economic pressures these small islands face, but more importantly to hear their proposed solutions. We are confident our call topics match that ambition.”