“You cannot manage what you cannot measure,” said Prime Minister Mark Brown at the Ocean Decade Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, last month.

The conference themed “The science we need for the ocean we want” was held from April 10-12. The Ocean Decade is a global initiative aimed at promoting international cooperation and collaboration in ocean science to achieve sustainable development, referred to as the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and is set from 2021 to 2030.

In a statement, the Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) said as a large ocean state, the Cook Islands is committed towards supporting the Ocean Decade efforts, being one of the first to establish an EEZ-wide multi-use marine park in 2017, the Marae Moana.

In line with this, SBMA has been compiling multibeam survey data of the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone gathered from historical surveys, as well as more recent seabed exploration research, and contributing this to the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project.

The Ocean Decade Conference, co-organised by IOC/UNESCO, took stock of progress thus far and advocated for continued efforts towards sustainable ocean management for current and future generations.

Cook Islands added its perspective to the discussions on how to effectively address the challenges of climate change resilience, protection of marine environment, capacity building and knowledge sharing, and international collaboration.

In his remarks at the High-Level Opening, PM Brown shared the importance of the Moana Nui o Kiva to Pacific peoples, and “the commitment to living in harmony with our ocean as we have done for thousands of years”.

He also reaffirmed the Cook Islands science-based and evidence-driven approach emphasising that “we should be guided by science and knowledge, not fear”.

Brown stressed the need for stronger partnerships and engagements within and beyond the Blue Pacific Continent stating, “the challenges that we face as a global community in addressing the decline of the state of the ocean system is a shared responsibility that must be tackled collectively”.

He also highlighted a regional collective action from last year’s Pacific Island Forum meeting, where Pacific Leaders committed to establishing a Pacific Centre of Excellence on Deep Ocean Science (PCEDOS).

PCEDOS exemplifies the Pacific’s collaborative spirit and dedication to advancing ocean science and stewardship. PCEDOS is currently in the process of a scoping study towards its establishment. The positive reception on this Pacific-led initiative thus far, particularly in supporting the Ocean Decade efforts, has been encouraging.

As the current Pacific Islands Forum chair, PM Brown was invited to give opening remarks in support of a side-event aimed at leveraging the benefits of the Ocean Decade for the Pacific, called “Towards a 100% integrated Blue Pacific management” and hosted by the Pacific Community (SPC) and Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner.

Brown advocated for greater ownership by the Pacific “of our ocean science (to) empower us to better protect and manage crucial ecosystems”.

Cook Islands, alongside the governments of Argentina and Bangladesh and other partners, co-hosted a side event with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) on leveraging knowledge, innovation, and empowerment in deep-sea research.

In his opening remarks, Brown shared, “For us, data and knowledge is more valuable than the resource itself. This is because it is only with knowledge and understanding that we can make sound decisions to unlock our Blue Economy and improve our lives and those of our children. Knowledge empowers us all.” The side-event included panels of experts where SBMA commissioner Alex Herman also shared insights on the Cook Islands perspective regarding the enablers for unlocking data and building capacity.

SBMA participated in another side event focused on women empowerment and gender equality in the ocean science space.

SBMA’s Rima Browne delivered a presentation on the involvement of women in the Cook Islands seabed minerals sector and advocated for more women to be involved at the decision-making level.

Her contributions were well received, providing attendees with valuable insight into the Cook Islands journey thus far.

“Overall, I am pleased with the Cook Islands contributions at the Ocean Decade conference to advocate for more ocean science and more data and knowledge to benefit our people, our Marae Moana and our Blue Pacific Continent,” said PM Brown.

“We need to continue to add our Pacific voices to these global efforts. We are after all custodians of around 20 per cent of the world’s surface.”

The Prime Minister was supported by Herman and senior knowledge management officer Browne from SBMA, and Nathalie Rossette-Cazel, ambassador of the Cook Islands to UNESCO.