Title: One Ocean Hub
Funder and duration: UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) 2019-2024
Lead partner: University of Strathclyde
Location: Global
University of Plymouth staff: Professor Kerry Howell (Plymouth PI), Dr Siân Rees, Kirsty McQuaid, Dr Holly Niner, Professor Mathew Upton, Professor Martin Attrill
One Ocean Hub - ‘the Hub’ – is a £20 million programme comprising of more than 50 partners from across the globe aiming to support the sustainable management of the marine environment.
A central priority is to ensure that the knowledge, experiences and rights of those most reliant on the oceans are recognised and included in decision-making and resource management. To support this aim, the Hub’s partners sit in research centres, development organisations, governments and communities. It brings together individuals, groups and organisations that rely on our oceans to realise a vision of an integrated and sustainable approach to managing their use.
The Hub will weave learning from the ocean and traditional knowledge of the peoples who rely upon it with scientific excellence, innovative legal approaches, and artistic methods. The University of Plymouth brings expertise in marine ecology, natural capital and the biomedical potential of marine organisms to the project. Hub activity focuses on the co-development of research with partners in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands.
The Hub will help to support the UK’s international commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans.
"The ocean is an incredible resource, and globally we are increasingly using it as a source of food, fuel, raw materials and medicines. We all recognise this needs to be done in a sustainable way, but making decisions about how to manage the oceans is a multi-faceted problem. One piece of the puzzle is understanding the marine ecosystem and how it impacts people's lives. Building on our world-leading expertise in this area, we are excited to start working with partners across the world to find solutions to the ocean’s most pressing problems."
Professor Kerry Howell, Associate Professor of Marine Ecology, and One Ocean Hub co-director
“Within the One Ocean Hub we are co-leading a work package exploring transformative governance as a means for creating an inclusive, innovative and responsible blue society. Our aim is to build on our applied natural capital research and develop the tools to define fair and equitable benefit sharing of natural resources fit for a global community."
Dr Sian Rees, Senior Research Fellow
“From the work we’ve already done with Dr Howell, we’re confident that the marine environment can be a source of new bioactive compounds, including much needed novel antibiotics. I’m very excited about the prospect of being able to work with partners in the Hub to explore the potential medical benefits that may come from their marine microbes. We will train researchers in the tools needed to isolate bioactive compounds from marine microbes, further demonstrating the value of their local environments.”
Professor Mathew Upton, Professor of Medical Microbiology
