Biodiversity Task Force
The Issue: As the biodiversity crisis mounts, there is an increasing need for deep-sea experts to proactively inform and guide nature-based solutions. This new Task Force for the Conservation of Deep-Ocean Biodiversity, launched by Anna Metaxas and Diva Amon, will take on that need for issues from high-level biodiversity policy to effective MPA design.
The Working Group: Since integrity of deep-ocean biodiversity is a core element of every DOSI Working Group, this Task Force will incorporate knowledge, conservation issues and solutions across Working Groups into broadly applicable actions that can then be modified as needed by individual Working Groups according to their areas of expertise. To achieve integration across Working Groups, the Task Force will also establish a liaison from each Working Group who will maintain a two-way exchange of knowledge.
Some initial talking points for the Task Force include:
- Knowledge is limited but should not limit stewardship
- The deep sea supports the health of our planet
- The deep sea is connected to the surface and the coasts
- The deep sea is being impacted by human activities
- Spatial protection and management are needed, such as 3D highly-protected large-scale MPAs that are “climate smart”
- Capacity transfer is urgently needed to address scientific and policy-related knowledge inequities to achieve global impact and effect transformative change
2023
- From 28 to 30 November 2023, Anna Metaxas participated in the 3rd Indigenous and local knowledge dialogue workshop for the IPBES Nexus Assessment in Montreal, Canada.
- In November 2023, DOSI’s nomination of Ana Colaço for the CBD’s “Informal Advisory Group for Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas” was successful. Additionally, she was successfully nominated to participate in the “Technical and legal expert workshops to review modalities for modifying the descriptions of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas and describing new areas” from 20 to 27 November 2023 in Norway. There she presented “The evolving data landscape and implications for EBSAs”.
- In October 2023, Agnes Muthumbi attended the 25th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 25) and the resumed second part of the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15), held in Nairobi, Kenya.
- In October 2023, Task Force leads, Anna Metaxas and Diva Amon discussed potential working group collaborations on high-sea ABMTs with BBNJ WG leads, Harriet Harden-Davies and Christine Gaebel.
- In September and October 2023, two workshops, one virtual and one hybrid, were held for the project “Beyond the status quo: defining and enabling a sustainable deep-ocean blue economy”. With leadership and participation from DOSI, alongside SpeSeas, the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, and the Nippon Foundation-University of Edinburgh Ocean Voices Programme, as well as financial support from The National Geographic Society, this project aims to create a new status quo and accelerate stewardship of the deep ocean by guiding the emerging deep-ocean Blue Economy into one that is truly equitable and sustainable. Twenty-one experts from 13 countries participated.
2022
- In March of 2022, Task Force leads Diva Amon and Anna Metaxas attended the 24th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Engaging on behalf of DOSI, Dr. Metaxas and Dr. Amon identified several important ways for DOSI to participate in future CBD activities. You can read their report on the meeting here.
- In December of 2022, Task Force Co-lead Anna Metaxas attended Biodiversity COP15 in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Metaxas’ report on the COP is available here. You can view her press briefing with science writer Terry Collins about the urgency of protecting marine species here.
- To go along with our involvement at Biodiversity COP15, DOSI co-signed this December 2022 policy brief led by Senckenberg on the need to inform biodiversity policy with ocean science.
Collaborate with us to advance deep-sea climate science. Engage in meetings, contribute to policy briefs and publications, and participate in international events.
WG members are encouraged to actively engage with WG communications and meetings, as these are where further information will be provided on workshops, outputs such as policy briefs and publications, as well as event attendance. Please note: DOSI Ambassadors who are involved key meetings are selected according to our DOSI internal policy and at the discretion of the WG leads.
Working Group Leads
Diva Amon
SpeSeas, Trinidad and Tobago / Natural History Museum, UK
Anna Metaxas
