The Belmont Forum is excited to communicate the pre-announcement of its upcoming Collaborative Research Action (CRA), “OCEAN 2: Towards the Ocean We Want: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Sustainability for Nature and Human Well-being.” This initiative aims to foster international, transdisciplinary research to address global environmental challenges facing our oceans.
About the “OCEAN 2” CRA
The “OCEAN 2” CRA is a formal contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It seeks to coordinate actions and projects through a transdisciplinary approach, promoting co-creation, co-design, and co-implementation of innovative solutions to protect ocean biodiversity from genes to ecosystems. Funded projects will be officially endorsed by the Decade Actions, connecting research teams with a broader network of Ocean Decade partners and initiatives.
Key Focus Areas
The call for proposals will encourage projects that address at least one of the following areas:
- Area 1 – Biodiversity Conservation and Nature-Based Solutions: Exploring and enhancing efforts to protect ocean biodiversity and implementing nature-based solutions.
- Area 2 – Ocean-Biodiversity-Climate Integration: Investigating the interconnections between ocean health, biodiversity, and climate change.
- Area 3 – Nature Futures, Ocean Governance, and Ethics for Sustainability: Examining future scenarios for the ocean, focusing on governance frameworks, and ethical considerations for sustainable practices.
Project Details
- Project Duration: Expected to be 36 months.
- Eligibility: Research Consortia must include three or more participants from at least three different countries, each requesting support from at least three different participating funding organizations. Consortia must be transdisciplinary, including partners from social sciences, STEM fields, and societal partners.
- Funding: Funding organizations from the following countries have tentatively agreed to support the call, such as Australia, Brazil (Santa Catarina, São Paulo states), Canada, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and UK. These are the non-governmental funding organisations that have tentatively agreed to support the call: the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and Future Earth (FE). Additional Annexes can be added on a rolling basis. Other applicants may apply on their own resources.
Timeline
The full call for proposals is scheduled to be released on June 11th, 2025, at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference. This pre-announcement provides an early notice to the scientific community to prepare for this opportunity.
How to Stay Informed
- Join Our Mailing List: Stay updated on the latest news and opportunities by filling out the Expression of Interest Form to join our “OCEANS 2” mailing list.
- Belmont Forum Channels: Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube, and Twitter.
- Events: Attend the SRI 2025 (June 16-20, 2025, Chicago).
- BFgo: Project proposals will be accepted through the Belmont Forum Grants Operating System (BFgo).
- Download the Pre-Announcement Document (EN/FR/SP/PT).
- Queries: Please send any questions to info@belmontforum.org with the subject line “CRA OCEAN 2 pre-announcement”.
The Belmont Forum is a group of funding agencies from around the world that support transdisciplinary research groups and participatory methods to address global environmental change. The “OCEAN 2” CRA is one of two research calls being launched in 2025