Advancing Sustainable Ocean Development: Reflections on 2023 and Directions for 2024

This webinar brought together experts from around the world to reflect on regional progress made in 2023 and strategies to drive sustainable ocean development in 2024. This is an important discussion on the eve of events such as the Ocean Science Meeting, the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, the Africa Blue Economy Summit and the UN Environment Assembly in February, the UN Ocean Decade Conference in April and the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development in July.

Convening regional communities for regular dialogues is essential for inclusive and equitable ocean governance. The first episode of the SDR Hub webinar series will focus on sustainable ocean development, one of the central themes of the Global Partnership for Ocean Accounts (GOAP). GOAP is an initiative within the framework of the SDR Hub's Sustainable Development Pathways: Development Beyond GDP. The webinar directly addresses challenges identified by the GOAP Global Community of Practice, including a lack of awareness of the use of ocean accounts for ocean governance, a lack of stakeholder engagement and communication, and the difficulty in bridging the gap between data generators and policymakers.

Panelists:
- Juan Pablo Castañeda, director of the Institute for Research in Natural Sciences and Technology (IARNA)
- Kirsten Oleson, Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Manuel Castillo, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, Environment and Development Division, United Nations
- Patrick Bogaart, Statistical Researcher for Ecosystem and Biodiversity Accounting, Statistics Netherlands
- Yvonne Waweru, Senior Advisor, Western Indian Ocean Governance Initiative Project

You can watch the recording of this webinar at the following link.