Ocean Forum: A Summary

The Ocean Forum functioned as an extension of the One Ocean Summit, which was part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the France-Portugal 2022 Season. The Forum has received the support of the French Institute and the Portuguese curator of the Season, the Committee of Patrons of the Season, Euronext and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

Bruno David, President of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), opened the Forum at the Sorbonne University International Conference Centre by recalling the objective of these three days of colloquia: "This event is a crossroads event of the France-Portugal Season, and the exchanges that we are going to have here in Paris will be followed by a day in Lisbon, on September 2, entitled "Ocean Forum: the Atlantic, a shared Franco-Portuguese vision."

Nathalie Drach-Teman then took the floor. The president of Sorbonne University began her speech with a message of solidarity for the Ukrainian people. "Alongside our European academic and institutional partners here, the Sorbonne University community shows its support for the Ukrainian scientific community and Ukrainian students currently displaced in border countries."

Throughout her speech, she emphasized the importance of the actions undertaken by the Ocean Institute of the Sorbonne University Alliance in scientific research. "By federating thirty laboratories, five marine stations and European observation infrastructures, we form the first research and training operator on the oceans in Europe, involving multidisciplinary perspectives."

Nathalie Drach-Temam continued her speech by mentioning the major issues related to the future of the oceans and our planet—concentration of plastic in marine ecosystems, warming waters, pollution—which have been confirmed by the IPCC. "This scientific consensus requires rapid and joint action by European states. As president of Europe's leading marine university, I owe it to you, the public decision-makers, to bring the voice of Sorbonne University's scientific community to the table, so that its work is given due consideration."

She concluded by mentioning the commitment of Sorbonne University which, on a daily basis, raises awareness of students to these environmental issues and invites "citizens present here today, to get engaged too, alongside members of our scientific community, in the search for new solutions to preserve the future of our oceans.”

The Portuguese Minister of the Sea, Ricardo Serrao Santos, spoke in French, insisting on the need to establish links between research centers but also on "the complexity of the phenomena we are facing which require reliable scientific information.”
Annick Girardin, French Minister of the Sea, spoke about the involvement of France and Portugal, the only two countries in Europe with a dedicated ministry, and the importance of research and scientific expertise that "allows us to take the necessary step back before making decisions.”

To conclude the opening morning, Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, ambassador for maritime issues, returned to the commitments of the One Ocean Summit in Brest, the geostrategic issues of marine territories, as well as the latest IPCC report and the issue of rising sea levels. "The forecasts are pessimistic, and these are concerns that affect nearly 2 to 3 billion people," he said.