The Argentine Republic was selected as the headquarters of a new UNESCO Specialized Center for Ocean Sciences within the framework of the OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) program of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).
The center will be dedicated to capacity development and training in ocean science in the countries of the region with a view to assisting States in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Goals.
The Argentine proposal was drafted jointly by the Foreign Ministry, the Naval Hydrography Service (SHN) -dependent of the Ministry of Defense, led by Agustín Rossi-, the School of Marine Sciences of the Argentine Navy (ESCM) and the Department of Sciences of the Atmosphere and the Oceans of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
In this regard, Foreign Minister Felipe Solá highlighted “Argentina's commitment to research and science for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans”, which is reflected in the active work of the Foreign Ministry in international forums related to the oceans, the law of the sea and fisheries matters.
For her part, Daniela Castro, Secretary of Research, Industrial Policy and Production for Defense of the Ministry of Defense, considered that the new Specialized Center for Ocean Sciences “will be a framework for strengthening and exchanging knowledge, it implies that Argentina gains an outstanding role in the region for the next Decade of Ocean Science and means strengthening capacities in a key context thinking about the relaunch of the Pampa Azul initiative”.
The new Specialized Center in our country joins the world network of OTGA centers of IOC-UNESCO and will serve to enhance Argentina's activities in the field of conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development Goals beginning in 2021, as well as Sustainable Development Goal 14 (“Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
