SOPHIE - Putting Communities Back into Ocean Observing
Creators: name: Kellett, Paula
name: Heymans, Sheila
name: Fleming, Lora E.
name: Smalley, Alex
name: Tonné, Nathalie
name: McHugh, Patricia
name: Domegan, Christine
name: Vera, Julia
name: Mariluz Parga
name: White, Mathew
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Ocean
Human Health
Ocean Observing
Citizen Science
EOOS
Data

description: The ocean is inextricably linked with the way we live. The EU-funded Horizon 2020 Project SOPHIE (Seas, Oceans and Public Health in Europe; https://sophie2020.eu/) is establishing the foundations for the future of Oceans and Human Health research in Europe through review, diverse community input, and discussion of strategy, to produce a strategic research agenda for Europe. SOPHIE is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, grant agreement No. 774567. The meta-discipline of Oceans and Human Health (OHH) spans expertise in the marine, public health and medical fields, and social science, and explores the complex interactions between Ocean Health and Human Health. Key aspects for this field of research is ocean observation, and building the evidence base of data to start drawing concrete links between the impacts of the ocean on human health, and our impacts on ocean health. Only through better understanding of these complex linkages can both the ocean and humans benefit. Identification and strategic monitoring of human-relevant ocean observation variables and indicators are vital first steps. The benefits of doing so could be felt in a wide array of fields, including: food and nutrition, sustainable ocean use, blue tourism and coastal living, climate change and adaptation, marine pollution, disaster risk management, mental health and wellbeing, and blue biotechnology. This will only become more important as we strive to move towards a more sustainable future. The SOPHIE Project is exploring the needs, gaps, benefits and priorities, especially in relation to ocean observing, and will make concrete proposals in a Strategic Research Agenda for Europe; a key project output. These recommendations can contribute to the implementation and future evolution of the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS). Highlighting the direct links to health, daily lives and leisure time might be the draw that society needs to reconnect with the ocean, and strive to protect it better in the future and for future generations. Making ocean observations relevant through clear societal links and accessible through approaches such as citizen science could go a long way to bridging the gap between science and society, and towards bringing ocean observations and their importance to a much wider public. SOPHIE will also further explore these opportunities, by engaging with a wide array of stakeholders in dedicated deliberation exercises, through a large-scale European survey, and through the development of illustrative citizen science projects. This poster presents an overview of the SOPHIE project, its direct relevance to ocean observing and EOOS, and the ways in which the project seeks to identify clear monitoring needs and benefits from engaging with diverse communities.