JPI Oceans – Where we’re heading

Featuring:

- Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science

- Ingrid Lieten, Flemish Minister for Innovation, Public Investment, Media and Poverty Reduction

- Elisabeth Aspaker, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries

http://www.jpi-oceans.eu

Transcript:

Máire Geoghegan Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science:

Joint Programming Initiatives are a way in which we get member states to work together across borders to combine their efforts and their research funding, so that we get more: there is better scale, more scope and we can tackle big societal challenges. As regards JPI Oceans, this is obviously a JPI that has been supported by the Commission from the very beginning. Oceans are an area that are terribly underdeveloped, from a research point of view, where there is a lot of fragmentation and duplication and we want to ensure that we have a focus and because of our big societal challenges, now Horizon 2020, this will give us the opportunity to have a more focused approach.

Ingrid Lieten, Vice-Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Innovation, Public Investment, Media and Poverty Reduction:

NL:

Oceanen en zeeën stoppen niet aan de landsgrenzen. Dus als we die belangrijke uitdagingen willen aanpakken dan hebben we samenwerking nodig. Op de eerste plaats denk ik is dit initiatief een heel goed overlegplatform waarbij mensen samen hun kennis samen leggen.Ten tweede is het ook een platform om verder afspraken te maken om dingen gezamenlijk aan te pakken. En dat denk ik dat heel hard nodig is. Ik geef één voorbeeld het grote probleem van de plastic zakken in de zee. We zijn ons daar onvoldoende van bewust hoeveel verschrikkelijke effecten, negatieve effecten die plastic zakken in de zee hebben. Heel veel lidstaten en landen zijn op één of andere manier bezig met onderzoek daar rond. Maar we weten niet altijd van elkaar welk onderzoek waar gebeurt en wat de resultaten zijn. Dat betekent dat we veel minder slagkracht hebben en dat ook verschillende resultaten soms tegen elkaar uitgespeeld worden. Dus, heel belangrijk denk ik om de krachten te bundelen. En daarom is dit platform een heel goede start, een heel goed begin, en ik hoop dat we daarin verder kunnen gaan.

EN:

Seas and oceans don’t stop at borders. So, if we would like to solve the grand challenges, we need cooperation. Firstly, the initiative is a very good platform for dialogue, where the responsible people can share their knowledge. Secondly, it is a platform for member countries to agree on joint actions Let me give one example: the problem of plastic in the ocean. We are insufficiently aware of the negative effects of plastic in the sea. There are a lot of countries doing research on the issue. Unfortunately it is not always known what is researched where and what the results are. This reduces the effective impact and may lead to competing results, making it extremely important to coordinate our resources. In that regard the establishment of this platform is a great start which I hope we will continue to advance.

Elisabeth Aspaker, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries

We highly value the oceans and the seas, and the part they play in the economy of coastal communities. I think however, that seas and oceans can play a more important role in the future economy, but in order to succeed it’s necessary to invest in science and research to increase our knowledge of the possibilities the oceans provide; and also in order to secure that we manage our seas and oceans in a sustainable way. Finding ways of maximizing a sustainable blue growth cannot be resolved on a national level alone, but only through international collaboration. I therefore command the efforts of JPI Oceans and anticipate some great results to come.

Footage provided by:

Cefas - Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science © Crown copyright, 2014

CNR - Italian National Research Council

Ifremer - French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea | Campagne IBTS/Olivier Dugornay |Equipe VAIMOS/Michel Gouillou

IMR - Institute of Marine Research

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

NIOZ - Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research / ScienceMedia.nl / Jan van de Kam Photography

Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries

Port of Antwerp / Manitoba

VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute / Bi-oS

Special thanks to:

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science

Ingrid Lieten, Vice-Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Flemish Minister for Innovation, Public Investment, Media and Poverty Reduction

Elisabeth Aspaker, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries