No Data, No Action: Investing in Ocean Observations to Achieve SDG14and a Sustainable Future

A Statement from POGO:

On 7 June 2025, members of POGO, a global consortium of nearly 60 oceanographic research institutions, will convene in Nice, to discuss the urgent need for sustainably-funded, globally-distributed and well-coordinated ocean observations.

Building the global ocean observing system began more than two decades ago and important advances have been made, particularly in the realm of physical (climate-related) ocean observations. Disappointingly, biological and chemical observations are still lagging behind their physical counterparts: The observing system falls far short of what is needed.

Such observations are critical to achieving SDG14 and to measuring progress against the ambitions set out by the UNFCCC/ Paris Agreement, CBD/ Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the new BBNJ Agreement, and other conventions and protocols being developed and implemented for the protection of our ocean. 

Without sustained ocean monitoring we cannot predict the pace or scale of future warming and assess the efficacy of emissions reductions or evaluate the feasibility of carbon removal methods. These data will be critical in designing effective and achievable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as well as informing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) that protect and support communities, marine life, and infrastructure from the growing risk of climate change.

To meet the biodiversity goals outlined in the KMGBF and the 2030 Targets, we must place ocean observations – particularly sustained, globally-coordinated biological observations – at the forefront of our efforts. The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) recommendations stress that an improved understanding of ecosystem functioning, achieved through sustained ocean observations, is fundamental to conserving marine and coastal biodiversity.

The UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) Declaration rightly draws attention to the full range of ocean pressures (climate change, biodiversity loss, marine pollution, eutrophication, deoxygenation, ocean acidification) and the legal instruments that are being deployed to address these. But highlighting problems and crafting legal solutions is only the beginning. The success of these instruments hinges on our ability to track the state of the ocean and detect changes over time. Alarmingly, there is still very limited data and understanding, particularly for marine biodiversity, pollution and its impacts on ecosystems, and the effects of multiple stressors. In some parts of the world, even data on essential physical parameters are seriously lacking.

The UNOC Declaration also calls for sustainable management of coastal and ocean resources, including fisheries and deep-sea ecosystems. It focuses on coastal hazards, such as sea-level rise and disaster-risk reduction. These priorities all depend on sustained ocean observations that can guide science-based policies, track human impacts on marine life (including fish stocks), and inform early-warning systems to protect lives and livelihoods.

Meeting these urgent needs demands financial commitments to implement, coordinate, and develop capacity for ocean observations, data management, and streamlining of data products for informed decision-making. Observations require strong international partnerships that invest in sustaining existing systems and adding new systems where they do not currently exist, and for biological variables that are not yet been measured.

Ocean observations are not optional. They are the backbone of evidence-based action on climate, biodiversity, disaster resilience, and ultimately sustainable development. The time to invest in these is now, so that no part of the global ocean, or the communities that depend on it, are left behind.

This statement was prepared by the POGO Advocacy WG and issued by the Board of Trustees, on behalf of POGO.

Advocacy Working Group Members:

Margaret Leinen (Scripps)
 (co-chair)
Katja Matthes (GEOMAR) (co-chair)
Francisco Arias (INVEMAR)
François Houllier (IFREMER)

Takeshi Kawano (JAMSTEC)
Fangli Qiao (FIO)
Kilaparti Ramakrishna (WHOI)

John Siddorn (NOC)

Board of Trustees:

Francisco Arias (INVEMAR) (Chair)
Fei Chai (Xiamen University)
Francisco Chavez (MBARI)
Carmen Paniagua (CICESE)
Olivier Pringault (IRD)
Aileen Tan Shau Hwai (CEMACS)
Yara Rodrigues (IMar)
Anya Waite (OFI)


SIGNATORIES

POGO Members representing their institutions

Margaret Leinen, Director

Scripps Institutions of Oceanography, USA

Katja Matthes, Director

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany

John Siddorn, Chief Executive

National Oceanography Centre, UK

Nicholas J P Owens, Executive Director

Scottish Association for Marine Science, UK

MBA logo

Willie Wilson, Chief Executive

Marine Biological Association, UK

Tamaryn Morris, Ocean and Polar Coordinator

South African Environmental Observation Network, South Africa

Kate Moran, President and CEO

Ocean Networks Canada, Canada

Marco Marcelli, POGO delegate

Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Italy

Camila Fernández, Director, Centro Oceanografico COPAS Coastal, UdeC

Representative of Chilean Consortium to POGO, Chile

Icarus Allen, Chief Executive

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

Takeshi Kawano, Executive Director

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan

Fei Chai, Chair Professor

State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (MEL), Xiamen University, China

Dr. Anya Waite, Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director
Ocean Frontier Institute, Canada

Subrata Sarker, Associate Professor and Head, Dept of Oceanography

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Bangladesh

Olivier Pringault, Scientific Director of the Ocean Department

Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD), France

Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, Director

Centre For Marine & Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Antje Boetius, President & CEO
Francisco Chavez, Senior Scientist

MBARI, USA

Dr Yara Rodrigues, Executive Member, Directive Board

Instituto do Mar I. P. (IMar), Cabo Verde

Representatives of other parties & organisations

Osvaldo Ulloa, Director
Renato Quiñones,
Oscar Pizarro,

Camila Fernández

Instituto Oceanos Universidad de Concepción Chile

Anne-Sophie Ste-Marie, Director – Coordination Office

Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System, Canada

Individual signatories (not representing their institutions)

Prof. Dr. Edmo J. D. Campos, Professor Emeritus
Oceanographic Institute – University of São Paulo, Brazil

Prof Howard Roe
Former Director, Southampton Oceanography Centre, and Former Chair, POGO

Prof Elva Escobar
ICML UNAM, Mexico

Prof Camila Domit
Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil

Francisco A. Arias-Isaza, General Director

Marine and Coastal Research Institute – INVEMAR, Colombia

François Houllier, President & CEO

IFREMER, France

Peter de Menocal, President & Director

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA

Adelino Vicente Mendonça Canário, President of Directive Board

CCMAR – Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve, Portugal

Han Dolman, Director

Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands

Raimund Bleischwitz, Professor and Scientific Director

Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Germany

Carmen G. Paniagua, Division Director

CICESE, Mexico

Maarten Boersma, Acting Director

Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

Jan Mees, General Director

Flanders Marine Institute, Belgium

Hyi-Seung LEE, President

Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), South Korea

Fan WANG, Director

Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), China

Maria del Carmen Garcia Martínez, Director of IEO

Spanish Institute of Oceanography, IEO-CSIC, Spain

Suzan El-Gharabawy, Vice President

National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Egypt

Alvin S. Jueseah, Chairman, Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences

University of Liberia

Eric Peterson, CEO

Hakai Institute, Canada

Zacharie Souhou, Director

Institut de Recherches Halieutiques et Océanologiques du Bénin (IRHOB), Benin

Frank Muller-Karger (MBON – USF), Marine Life 2030 programme coordinator
Gabrielle Canonico (NOAA IOOS), Marine Life 2030 programme coordinator

Inga Lips, Secretary General
European Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS)

Joana Soares, MBON Executive Secretary
MBON (Marine Biodiversity Observation Network) / AIR Centre

Katie Millette, GEOBON Executive Secretary
GEOBON (Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network)

Nicolas Pade (Executive Director, EMBRC-ERIC)

Audrey Hasson, GEO Blue Planet Executive Director
GEO Blue Planet

David Johns, Director
Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey, UK

Joanna Post, Director
Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), UNESCO/IOC/OOS

Niall McDonough, Director Policy, Innovation and Research Support

Marine Institute, Ireland

Edem Mahu, Senior Lecturer
Benjamin Osei Botwe, Head, Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences

University of Ghana, Ghana

Nubi Olubunmi, Director, Physical & Chemical Oceanography

Nigerian Institute for Oceanography & Marine Research, Nigeria

Joseph Nkwoji, Main PoC
Lucian Obinna Chukwu, Professor of Marine Biology
Amii Isaac Obiakara-Amaechi, Senior Lecturer and Administrative Assistance

University of Lagos, Nigeria

Francis Emile Asuquo, Director, Macorn

University of Calabar, Nigeria

Christophe Gaudin, Director, UWA Oceans Institute

The University of Western Australia, Australia

Chaolun Li, Director

South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Brice Mobio, Laboratory Manager

Centre Universitaire de Recherche et d’Application en Télédétection, Cote D’ivoire

T. Srinivasa Kumar, Director

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), India

Vidar Helgesen, IOC Executive Secretary
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, also covering for IODE and OBIS

Peter Pissierssens, Head, IOC Project Office for IODE

Raïssa Meyer (AWI, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, and Uni of Bremen), Omic BON lead
Neil Davies (Gump Station and UC Berkeley Institute for Data Science), Omic BON lead
Pier Luigi Buttigieg (AWI ), Omic BON lead

Romain Troublé (CEO, Tara Ocean Foundation)

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