4th Marine Board Forum

The 4th Marine Board Forum was held on 12 March 2014 in cooperation with the European Polar Board and focused on a changing Arctic and corresponding implications for human health and well-being and promoted the need for a sustainable ecosystem-based management.

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The 4th European Marine Board Forum brought together Arctic stakeholders from multiple sectors (science, industry, policy & governance, NGOs, etc.) to:

  • Discuss current trends and patterns of change in Arctic Ocean ecosystems, including human activity;
  • Identify possible “2050” scenarios for Arctic Change and the corresponding implications for human health and well-being;
  • Highlight key research gaps, needs and challenges in support of understanding, mitigating against, or adapting to Arctic change;
  • Stimulate dialogue across sectors to aid common understanding, collaborative actions and sustainability targets;
  • Promote the need for a sustainable ecosystem-based management of the Arctic Ocean.


Programme

Moderated by David Shukman, BBC Science Editor, the forum programme included David Vaughan (British Antarctic Survey), Paul Connolly (President of the International Council for Exploration of the Sea), Antje Boetius (Alfred Wegener Institute for Marine and Polar Research), Stein Sandven (European Space Agency), Kári Fannar Lárusson (Arctic Council), Carlo Barbante (Italian National Research Council), Paul Wassmann (Univ. of Tromsoe), Robert Blaauw (Shell Den Haag & International Association of Oil and Gas Producers), Paul Berkman (University of California) and Kurt Vandenberghe (European Commission DG Research & Innnovation). The event concluded with a high-level panel discussion with participation from science, industry and policy.


The 4th EMB Forum was co-organized by the EMB and the European Polar Board and was an official ICARP III (3rd International Conference on Arctiv Research Planning) event. The organizers gratefully acknowledge the support of the UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC) towards the running costs of the forum, and of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts (KVAB) for the logistics support.

You can find the news release for this event here.


Location and date

The Forum took place in the centre of Brussels, at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts (KVAB, Hertogsstraat 1, 1000 Brussels), on Wednesday 12 March 2014. The Academy is situated to the left from the Royal Palace, across Hertogsstraat. 


Contact at European Marine Board Secretariat: Email