embracing the ocean

The Ocean covers 70% of the surface of our planet, forms 95% of the biosphere in terms of volume and is essential for supporting life. The Ocean regulates global climate systems and has absorbed one third of excess carbon dioxide emitted into our atmosphere since the industrial revolution, as well as the majority of Earth’s excess heat. It provides potential for a huge source of renewable energy, coastal protection, recreation and cultural well-being, as well as being an importance source of food and medicine. These benefits that the Ocean provides are dependent on the maintenance of Ocean physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes, healthy and resilient marine ecosystems, and a shift in human activities towards sustainable practices.

The Ocean is too often out of sight and out of mind, and is increasingly under threat from human activities including global population growth, pollution (including carbon dioxide, nutrients, plastics, noise), climate change, and over-fishing, causing the widespread loss and degradation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity. However, there are solutions which we must embrace and scale-up to overcome global sustainability challenges. If we wish to ensure a sustainable future for our Ocean and the benefits it provides for society, we must change the way we interact with our Ocean. This includes the conservation and restoration of key marine ecosystems; reducing marine pollution; sustainably managing our fisheries and other resource use; and strengthening empathy towards our Ocean to ensure the effectiveness of scientific solutions.

A key principle of the EMBracing the Ocean programme is co-creation of work between artists and their scientific collaborators. Co-creation is the process of creating something new together while exchanging and reshaping ideas. The artists and scientists are considered equal and each benefits and learns from the process. The goal of co-created art-science projects goes beyond making complex scientific topics more accessible to the public, and also strives for the scientists to gain new insights into their work by collaborating with artists.