The new "Ocean and Climate" priority research programme brings together the strengths of the French scientific community to gain a better understanding of this ecosystem and protect it more effectively. The research teams involved will have to meet seven major challenges relating to the issues of sustainable development for the ocean.
Research is getting organised
The ocean is an ecosystem threatened by global warming, pollution, overexploitation of its resources and the degradation of its habitats.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the creation of a Priority Research Programme (PPR) to improve knowledge of this environment and help preserve it. Launched on World Ocean Day, 8 June 2021, the "Ocean and Climate" PPR will have a budget of €40 million over a six-year period.
Led by CNRS and Ifremer, it comes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the General Secretariat for Investment.
The RPP Scientific Advisory Board, set up to provide independent advice to the Management Committee on the general strategy of the RPP, its implementation and the associated scientific activities, is chaired by Yunne Shin, Director of Research at the IRD. Its members also include Frédéric Ménard and Marie Bonnin, both research directors at the IRD.
An ocean of solutions
The "Ocean and Climate" RPP is structured around four defined geographical areas: overseas territories, the deep ocean, the polar oceans and coastal ecosystems in mainland France; and three priorities: forecasting the ocean's response to climate change and adaptation scenarios, the sustainable use of the ocean and the preservation of its biodiversity and services.
Seven interdisciplinary challenges have been devised by the RPP Scientific Council, chaired by Yunne Shin. The aim will be for the scientific community to take up these seven challenges by proposing ambitious projects that will structure French research for the coming decade around the major issues of sustainable development for the ocean:
Predicting the impacts of extreme phenomena linked to climate change in the French overseas territories to guide territorial policies: the intertropical band is an area where there is the greatest uncertainty when simulating climate change. Research will aim to understand the extent to which an increase in the frequency of storms and marine heat waves will have an impact on these territories, or what repercussions rising sea levels will have on populations.
Intensifying research in the polar oceans, which are undergoing major changes and have major geostrategic implications: the Arctic is warming three times faster than elsewhere and the sea ice is disappearing. The ecosystem of this ocean is now extremely disturbed. The polar oceans are also at the crossroads of geostrategic issues because they harbour hydrocarbon resources. To what extent will all these aspects affect the indigenous populations?
Characterising the oceanic "exposome" to protect marine ecosystems: the oceanic exposome covers the totality of exposures to pollutants in this environment. What is the extent of this exposome and what impact does it have on the ocean and the species that live there?
Developing innovative observation and modelling programmes to gain a better understanding of the ocean: only a tiny part of the ocean has been accurately mapped, out of a total volume of 1,370 million km3 and a surface area of 360 million km2 . Similarly, only 270,000 marine species have been identified out of a total of several million.
Improving the protection and resilience of marine environments through the development of new integrated management approaches: this will involve improving the protection and resilience of marine environments, through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for example. These can have real benefits for the public, but we need to study them more closely to find out how to get the most out of them.
Exploiting the ocean's resources based on the science of sustainability: particularly when it comes to exploiting the deep seas and their reserves of mineral resources. How are deep-sea ecosystems affected? This challenge concerns fishing in particular. In 2020, 60 % of the 400,000 tonnes of fish landed in mainland France came from sustainably exploited populations, but overfishing still affects 21 % of populations, and 2 % are considered to be "collapsed".
Sharing with the general public the discovery of the ocean and the associated societal issues: all this research will have little impact if society is not involved. The RPP therefore wants to involve society in protecting and enhancing the ocean. It is important to inform as many people as possible about the state of the ocean, and also about the responses and solutions that research is proposing.