Belmont Forum awards funding for ocean sustainability research
The Belmont Forum funds projects in a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) on Ocean Sustainability, within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) no. 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development). Because the challenge is complex, there is a need for integrated, transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches, bringing together natural and social sciences as well as policymakers, resource managers, industries, citizens and other societal partners.
Following an international call, funding organizations from 16 countries have agreed to award 13 international consortia of researchers and stakeholders a total of 14 250 000 € plus in-kind contributions over 4 years. The projects will use transdisciplinary processes to bring together stakeholders and researchers from across the globe to innovate solutions to accelerate sustainable use of oceans and minimize the effects from global change.
CRA Ocean Sustainability – a Belmont Forum, Future Earth and JPI Oceans co-branded Collaborative Research Action on Transdisciplinary Research for Ocean Sustainability
www.belmontforum.org/cras/#oceans2018
Awarded projects:
| Short Name | Title | Consortium Lead |
| Salt-Mine | Beyond freshwater generation: Mineral extraction from seawater desalination brine and seawater greenhouse farming | Kuria Ndungu, Norway |
| ARMSRestore | ARMS to reefs: A new tool to restore coral reef biodiversity, fisheries yields, and human health in Madagascar | Aaron Hartmann, USA |
| MARISCO | Marine Research and Innovation for a Sustainable management of Coasts and Oceans | Helmut Hillebrand, Germany |
| OCEANS PACT | OCEAN Sustainability Pathways for Achieving Conflict Transformation | Michael Gilek, Sweden |
| COAST | Coastal OceAn SusTainability in Changing Climate | Sergey Gulev, Russia |
| OA-ME | Evaluation, Mitigation and Adaptation of Impacts of Ocean Acidification to Marine Ecosystems | Hajime Kayanne, Japan |
| MULTI-FRAME | Assessment Framework for successful development of viable ocean multi-use systems | Susanne Altvater, Germany |
| ShipTRASE | Global shipping: Linking policy and economics to biogeochemical cycling and air-sea interaction | Anna Rutgersson, Sweden |
| OceanFrontCHANGE | Managing Ocean Front Ecosystems for Climate Change | Lee Hannah, USA |
| PolyCone | Integrated and sustainable regulation of cones in Eastern Polynesia | Tamatoa Bambridge, France |
| COAST Card | Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation | William Dennison, USA |
| NO CRISES | Negotiating Ocean Conflicts among RIvals for Sustainable and Equitable Solutions | Ingrid van Putten, Australia |
| EXEBUS | Ecological and Economic impacts of the intensification of extreme events in the Benguela Upwelling System | Albertus Smit, South Africa |
Participating organizations:
| Country | Funding organization, website |
| Australia | Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO www.csiro.au/en/Research/OandA |
| Brazil | São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP www.fapesp.br |
| France | National Research Agency, ANR www.agence-nationale-recherche.fr/RF |
| Germany | Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF www.bmbf.de/en |
| Iceland | Icelandic Centre for Research, RANNIS en.rannis.is/funding/research |
| India | Ministry of Earth Sciences, MoES www.moes.gov.in/ |
| Japan | Japan Science and Technology Agency, JST www.jst.go.jp/inter/english |
| Norway | Research Council of Norway www.forskningsradet.no |
| Philippines | Department of Science and Technology, DOST-PCIEERD pcieerd.dost.gov.ph |
| Russia | Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR www.rfbr.ru/rffi/eng/ |
| Saudi Arabia | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST www.kaust.edu.sa/en |
| South Africa | National Research Foundation, NRF www.nrf.ac.za |
| Sweden | Swedish Research Council for Env, Agric Sci & Spatial Planning, FORMAS www.formas.se/en/ |
| Sweden/for East African countries | Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA www.sida.se |
| USA/international | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM www.boem.gov |
| USA | National Science Foundation, NSF www.nsf.gov |
Partners: Future Earth, futureearth.org
JPI Oceans, www.jpi-oceans.eu
Funding awarded for ocean sustainability research – Belmont Forum
