Biodiversity for a Resilient Planet

Thank you very much to all who attended our panel side event at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, “Biodiversity for a Resilient Planet: A Deeper Look.”

The deep ocean contains over 90 percent of the living space for life on Earth, and its remarkable biodiversity is critical for human well-being. While it can seem remote and unchanging, this deep-sea biodiversity faces clear and increasing threats from climate change, mining, fishing, and pollution. To make sure deep-ocean life can keep supporting a livable planet, we need new partnerships and policy solutions that make good use of the latest ocean science.

The Event

This panel, designed for all audiences, gathered top experts to share ideas for scaling up effective management and conservation of the deep sea. Panelists spoke on the following key points:

Important benefits that deep-sea biodiversity provides to people and other life on Earth
Current threats facing deep-sea life
The current state of deep-ocean policy
Steps we can take to enable good policy decisions for the deep sea

After a discussion among the panelists, the remaining time was used for audience questions.

The speakers

Panelists at this event included:

Dr Anna Metaxas, Dalhousie University*
Dr Ricardo Serrão Santos, University of the Azores and former Minister of Maritime Affairs, Portugal
Dr Diva Amon, Benioff Ocean Initiative, University of California, Santa Barbara*
Angelique Pouponneau, Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Dr Lisa Levin, Scripps Institution of Oceanography*
Kristina Gjerde, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)*
Dr Ana Hilário, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro; Challenger 150 Co-Lead*

*DOSI Core Team member

The event was moderated by Brandon Gertz, DOSI’s Communications Lead.

For those who were unable to attend the panel in person, we invite you to view the recording of the event below.

Best wishes,

The Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) and partners: University of California, Universidade de Aveiro, IUCN, Challenger 150, AOSIS, Ciencia Viva, the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS), Okeanos, and Arcadia Fund