The Value of Marine Research
Leading the Way in Oceans Research and Innovation
Humanity has a reciprocal relationship with the oceans. We recognize how important oceans are to our way of life: crucial to the economy and industries such as transportation, oil and gas, tourism, renewable energy, fisheries and more. But we’ve also learned that human activity has harmed ocean ecosystems through pollution, overfishing and global climate change.
At Dalhousie, oceans are an area of special emphasis, with more than 100 of our faculty involved in research ranging from oceanography and marine biology to law and engineering. In 2011, oceans research at Dalhousie will see two major milestones: the 40th anniversary of the Department of Oceanography and the 25th anniversary of our Marine Affairs program.
Dalhousie leadership in oceans research is well-established. The Ocean Tracking Network is headquartered at Dalhousie, supported by the largest federal government grant in Atlantic Canada’s history. The university was awarded the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology, bringing internationally-renowned marine chemist Doug Wallace to campus. And Dalhousie is host to the Aquatron, a unique world-class aquatic research facility that recently entered into a new partnership with Trojan Technologies of Ontario that will enable extensive commercial ballast water testing on-site.
Dalhousie has taken a leadership role in establishing the Halifax Marine Research Institute, a collaborative marine research and commercialization vehicle that will increase the scale, quality, scope and impact of marine research in our region, helping to build a growing and vibrant cluster of marine technology companies.
Dalhousie Oceans Week - Gala Keynote
From June 1-8, 2011, Dalhousie brought together scientists from around the world, industry and government partners, and the public to host a series of events to celebrate the vital role oceans research and industry play in our region and in building our economic future.
Peter Nicholson, president of the Council of Canadian Academies and chair of the External Advisory Committee of the Halifax Marine Research Institute, delivered the keynote address at the 2011 Dalhousie Oceans Week Gala. A native of Nova Scotia, Peter Nicholson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Dalhousie and has served in numerous posts in government, business, science, and higher education. Before assuming his current position, he was deputy chief of staff, policy, in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.
Download speech text: "The Value of Marine Research" [PDF - 114 kB]
Dalhousie Oceans Week - Address from Wendy Watson-Wright
Wendy Watson-Wright has been Assistant Director General and Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO) since January, 2010. Headquartered in Paris, IOCUNESCO promotes international cooperation and coordinates programmes in marine research, services, observation systems, hazard mitigation and capacity development in order to better manage the nature and resources of the oceans and coastal areas.
From 2001 to 2009, she was Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Science Sector, in Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) where she was responsible for providing the leadership, and policy and scientific direction for all science activities in the department, including oceanography, hydrography, and fisheries, aquaculture, habitat, climate and aquatic ecosystem science.
A Killam scholar, Dr. Watson-Wright holds a Ph.D. in Physiology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has been a member of several boards including the Canadian
Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Science and Ocean Networks Canada, and was a
Canadian commissioner on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Speaking notes
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you very much for inviting me to be here.
As Executive Secretary and Assistant Director General of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, it gives me immense pleasure to be here this evening and to congratulate all involved for this wonderful initiative to bring together the combined strength of marine science in this region in the form of the Halifax Marine Research Institute. And as a native Maritimer who spent most of my life in and around Halifax, who received all my degrees from Dalhousie, and who began my public service career devoted to the ocean just down the street at 1721 Lower Water Street, it makes me exceptionally proud of what you are accomplishing.
IOC-UNESCO has for the past 50 years been the focal point within the United Nations system for ocean science, ocean services (for example Tsunami Warning Systems), ocean observations and data exchange. And under the United Nations convention on the law of the Sea, IOC is considered as the competent international organization for marine science. So from an IOC perspective, your purpose to apply world-class science to economic, social and environmental challenges for the region, North Atlantic, and the global ocean is very important, and it will allow us in our global science coordination role to draw more readily on the wealth of expertise that resides here in the Halifax area and across Atlantic Canada.
This region, perhaps more than any, knows how important the ocean is … From fisheries to aquaculture, shipping to coastal tourism, natural resource extraction to ship building, the ocean truly does contribute to well being of all and the livelihoods of many.
Yet, our current knowledge about the ocean is limited. Despite the scientific research promoted via international cooperation over the past 50 years, the ocean remains relatively unexplored. More than 1,500 people have climbed Mount Everest; over 300 have journeyed into space, and 12 have walked on the moon; but only 5% of the ocean floor has been investigated, and only two divers have descended to and returned from the deepest part of the ocean.
You are taking a major step toward putting yourselves in your rightful place as a leader in marine-related sciences, innovation, and industry, with the laudable goal of better underpinning our understanding and management of the ocean.
At the global level we need this kind of leadership. The state of the ocean and its future is intimately linked with human well-being, not only on the coast but far inland and on every continent. Climate change and its impact on ocean ecosystems and fisheries, growing levels of ocean pollution, the threat of sea level rise, ocean acidification, challenges linked to new sea routes in the Arctic and the general challenge of governing and ensuring stewardship of a vast space beyond national jurisdiction—we need marine science and technology to shape good policy on the strength of solid evidence.
The global programmes that the IOC coordinates in marine observations and science are only as strong as their national contributors, and you are lining yourselves up to build a larger critical mass for excellence in marine research. Many of your themes echo programmes that the 139 Member States of the IOC have collectively decided are global priorities. Research in "Observation, prediction and response" will feed the Global Ocean Observing System and ocean services. Work in "Living resource conservation, biodiversity, and risk assessment" will contribute to IOC ocean sciences programmes and the UN Regular Process of assessment of the marine environment. "Technology" and innovation will give us new tools for insight into the ocean and how it affects our lives. And research in "Global marine governance and management" is critical to turn science into good policies and procedures.
You are also placing yourselves well to be able to feed into Canada’s position and input into the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, where it is critical that the ocean and its role in sustainable development and not just the green but also the blue economy is seen as a priority among Member Nations. I would encourage you to make your voice heard in this process.
Once again, I thank you for the invitation to ‘come home’, I congratulate you on this innovative, timely and hugely important initiative, and I look forward to collaborating with the HRMI in the future in our efforts to promote and protect the global ocean….together.
