In his opening remarks, Professor Ronán Long, Director of WMU-GOI, reflected on the Programme’s objectives, global partnerships and highlighted recent developments across its research agenda. He also shared insights from his participation at the Island State Ocean Summit in Tokyo and provided updates on the five case studies under Pillar 1 of the Programme, which examines interactions among ocean governance regimes and institutions and their implications for the future of global ocean governance.

Subsequent sessions featured updates from the Programme’s remaining three research pillars. Discussions under pillar 2 explored the increasingly important role of non-state actors in ocean governance and decision-making processes, as well as ongoing contributions to the international negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution. Especially the role of ocean literacy and youth engagement in international fora has been discussed and participants highlighted the tremendous importance of fair and equitable access to negotiation rooms for all.

Participants also reviewed progress on ocean observation and marine data governance, including efforts to scope a future Ocean-Based Observation (OBO) curriculum and establish expert working groups focused on ocean data and marine genetic resources under pillar 3. The Ocean Data Working Group has completed nine meetings as of today with the main focus on advancing the iterative development of the curriculum for ocean data for marine biodiversity. Besides, the progress with the work of the Marine Genetic Resources (MGR) Scientific Committee, aiming to raise awareness of the societal, ecological, and economic value of marine genetic resources, was presented.

The contribution of Pillar 3 in the chairmanship of the Sub-Committee on Education and Training (SCET)  of GEBCO was underlined. The committee aims to raise awareness amongst academic institutions of gaps in education and training that may impact the progress and development of ocean mapping. The role of ocean observation technologies in this global effort has been underlined.

The workshop further examined the Programme’s work on the futures of ocean governance under pillar 4, highlighting the increasing interest in future modelling in decision-making contexts and giving momentum to the ongoing methodological work on future studies to develop scenarios for plausible futures for ocean governance. Discussions also highlighted the importance of the political economy of the BBNJ Agreement in building a sustainable and fairer ocean, exploring the linkages between the Agreement and broader environmental and multilateral governance frameworks.

The final session showcased the work of Future Ocean Programme PhD candidates, who presented updates on their doctoral research regarding the case studies of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem and the Saya de Malha Bank.