Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
8.1 Introduction
Good ocean governance through marine science and technology means promoting the use
of the oceans and seas as part of efforts to 'eradicate poverty, to ensure food security and to
sustain economic prosperity and the well-being of present and future generations' (United
advice and information on marine science and technology, the appropriate transfer of tech-
nology, and support for the production and diffusion of factual information and knowledge
for end-users through appropriate policies.
Disaster risk reduction has since long been recognized as a fundamental contribution
key role in fostering the knowledge needed to manage marine resources sustainably (see, re-
cently, United Nations,
2012c
). In this light, the present contribution focuses on two interre-
lated issues for which an institutional framework for international cooperation and coordin-
ation has emerged, but is still incomplete and may require further guidance within exist-
ing mechanisms or the development of additional instruments. The organization of regional
tsunami warning and mitigation systems (TWS), and a global framework to address ocean
hazards related to sea level, entail a complex set of multilateral and bilateral arrangements
for the exchange of real-time seismic and sea-level data and the issuing of advisory and
warning messages across the countries of shared ocean basins (for a comprehensive review
of the subject of tsunamis see Bernard and Robinson,
2009
). The international Argo Project
is an array of over 3500 free-drifting profiling floats that allow continuous monitoring of
the temperature, salinity, and velocity of the upper 2000 m of the ocean. Both the TWS and
Argo are relevant cases that prove how effective ocean governance can be achieved through
the design and implementation of appropriate international scientific research and observa-
tional programmes.
