One ocean, one community: the GDR Omer provides structure and breaks down silos

In summer 2024 UNESCO warned "the oceans are suffering" and now, faced with the current complex crisis, science needs to break down its functional silos and reconnect its knowledge. This is exactly the objective defined for and by the 'Oceans and Seas' research network GDR OMER (Ocean and Seas) set up in 2021. This CNRS research network is based on interdisciplinarity, with all its working groups and funded theses aiming to push back the traditional boundaries of basic science. OMER is a real hothouse for ideas and a precursor to other national and international ocean-related projects.

A few months before the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) and the One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) scheduled for early June in Nice, the GDR OMER took stock of its progress at the CNRS's recent 'Ocean and Sea Days'. Issues covered included the motivations for research and young researchers' role in marine sciences. New stakeholders from outside the research community attended the event for the first time with over 200 people - researchers, decision-makers, media stakeholders and artists – exploring crucial questions at CNRS headquarters. How can science tackle the challenges facing the world's oceans more effectively? And how should scientific knowledge be consolidated and developed to feed into the political, economic and social decision-making process?

Interdisciplinarity - an essential bridge between knowledge and practices

The GDR OMER has 1300 contributors which is a testimony to the network's capacity to federate different research strands. Its working groups deal with topics as varied as coastal areas, the digital ocean and ocean sounds. "Centralising research on the ocean seems self-evident but it's really complex to bring together all the right specialities to work on this shared subject," explains Fabrizio D'Ortenzio, director of the GDR OMER. "That's why we launched these days for exchanges."

This annual event provides an opportunity to monitor ongoing work, discuss methodological and thematic progress and react to emerging issues like the management of new technologies (AI, digital twins, etc.) and the questions these bring up as regards their economic and environmental impact or open science and so forth. Scientific interdisciplinarity brings its own challenges like training new researchers, the dialogue between disciplines and the publication of interdisciplinary results and these were discussed during the event's round tables and exhibitions. However this year, the event's novel feature was its openness to other spheres of our society.

The urgent need for science to be open to other communities

After three years of research consolidation, the GDR OMER has highlighted the urgent need for science to be more open towards public decision-makers. With UNOC3 in mind, Olivier Poivre d'Arvor accepted the GDR OMER's invitation to attend the event, explaining that "it's useful to take stock right now. It'll be a fantastic event in Nice, with many leaders around the table who'll be there to listen and hear what's said. The whole context makes the conference both exciting and indispensable," said the French President's special envoy to the United Nations Ocean Conference at the opening of the 'Acting for the ocean - linking ocean sciences and public policies" session.

This echoes the idea of the political sphere requiring robust scientific knowledge to take decisions. Éric Banel is the director general for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA) and was invited to speak at the conference, telling those present that "our mission is to bring together all the economic, environmental and social aspects of maritime policy, so all our public policies or decisions are based on science. And still, public action has never been so contested. To progress now we clearly need to develop interdisciplinary approaches like the GDR OMER's." 

For example, the complexity of issues like the development of marine renewable energies requires in-depth knowledge of subjects like the impacts on the environment and biodiversity, effects on water bodies or underwater noise, etc. But it above all requires a great deal of convincing and explaining as was the case with the public debate on the sea the French State set up in 2024. The same could be said of fishery management or the preservation of coastal wetlands, with all these issues calling for greater collaboration between science and politics.

However, Éric Banel makes it clear that this link between science and decision-making still brings up many pitfalls to be avoided. "We need to work to bring science and politics closer so scientific proposals are understandable to public decision-makers and, conversely, so scientists find such decisions acceptable."

Massive investment in research programmes in recent years has helped make ocean science much more sophisticated and capable of responding to the main requirements of decision-makers. Vast amounts of data are now available and the number of forums to bring science and decision-making closer is ever-growing. Stakeholders like the Ocean & Climate Platform (OPC1 ) are prime intermediaries between science and decision-makers. "The true challenge is to instil fluid dialogue between all the right stakeholders - scientists, industrialists, associations, citizens and so on – because without them it's difficult to take public decisions," adds Éric Banel.

Towards international governance of the world's ocean 

This issue of exchanges is also reflected on the global scale. Oceans have no borders so they are at the core of complex international dynamics. However, Éric Banel points out that "ocean governance is definitely international but it's anything but global." The ocean is subjected to diverse and often contradictory interests including the environment, maritime transport, fishing, etc. This fragmentation of interests is in turn reflected in the multiplicity of organisations (International Maritime Organisation2 , International Council for the Exploration of the Sea3 , etc.) working towards partial or individual objectives.

These debates are taking place just before the United Nations Conference on the Oceans which had a major impact on issues discussed at the CNRS event. The latter aimed to develop the right framework of shared governance and clear objectives for the sustainable management of the oceans to bring divergent voices together. The global vision needs scientific knowledge to emerge and in return, scientists are very much aware of the crucial role they have to play. "It's important for us to be able to express our ideas and visions outside the context of the GDR. That's why three OMER working groups on ocean governance, the study of the deep ocean and ocean connectivity have been given sessions at the One Ocean Science Congress before the UNOC organised by the CNRS and the Ifremer. This should bring out the priority challenges targeted by the United Nations," explains Fabrizio D'Ortenzio. 

• 1The OPC's objective is to provide civil society and decision-makers with new knowledge and insights into the issues, challenges and solutions at the interface between ocean, climate and biodiversity issues. It brings together more than 110 members - research institutes, NGOs, aquariums, the private sector, French institutions and international agencies, and local and regional authorities.
• 2A United Nations institution specialising in maritime issues relating to navigation.
• 3An intergovernmental organisation created in 1902 to coordinate research on the North-East Atlantic's marine environment and resources. It federates the work of 1600 scientists mainly from the 20 member countries with coasts on the North Atlantic.

Raising public awareness

Another major focus at the conference was the issue of scientific communication. "Scientists urgently need to communicate better, quicker and in a way that is more adapted to a society that doesn't always want to listen to them," explains Laurent Chauvaud, researcher, co-leader of the GDR OMER's SIAM1  working group and moderator of the 'Sharing around the ocean: the challenge of information and dreams.' session at the recent event.

The academic sphere's dissemination platforms have been multiplying for a while with initiatives ranging from media collaboration to organising outreach exhibitions in science museums. The plurality of contemporary media and the popular information methods of today like videos (Youtube, social networks, etc.) and podcasts represent opportunities for scientists to explore new ways of doing working that break down the limits of traditional dissemination routes.  "In the last few years, I've seen a new generation of scientists who want to get involved in this form of sharing in a well thought-out way that's supervised by experts in the codes of communication. We know we need to take part in debates on the ocean but not in just any well-intentioned but possibly harmful way that might may harm the subject despite having the best intentions," notes Fabrizio D'Ortenzio.

Finally, art could play a more important role in this transmission and the SIAM group is exploring this in its work on science-art interactions aimed at promoting more inclusive and creative communicating about the world's oceans. Art particularly makes it possible to convey invisible realities like the deep ocean thus enriching dialogue around these crucial issues. "Linking up art and science is nothing new - there was no distinction between the two during the Age of Enlightenment and in fact they blended in a shared culture. OMER breaks down the barriers between disciplines and similarly there's definite interest in reconnecting art and science to create new forms of intelligences in response to important oceanic issues," concludes Laurent Chauvaud.

• 1Science and Art of the Sea.