Submission—Draft Sustainable Ocean Plan
On 16 September 2024, the Academy and Future Earth Australia made a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the department’s Draft Sustainable Ocean Plan.
In the submission, the Academy and Future Earth Australia:
- Support the plan's overarching priorities, which largely align with the recommendations in the FEA Sustainable Oceans And Coasts National Strategy 2021–2030.
- Recommend including clear, measurable, and quantifiable actions for each proposed national priority through an action plan, to ensure a pathway to successful outcomes is presented.
- Propose that the Plan explicitly acknowledges the interconnectivity of the proposed national priorities to enable transdisciplinary opportunities and avoid fragmentation and siloing.
- Propose empowering Indigenous communities to lead in the co-management of Sea Country, with representation at all decision-making levels.
- Recommend leveraging Australia’s membership of the Belmont Forum through FEA to shape and resource global science and research that meets Australia’s priorities.
