Volker Rieke ( BMBF), Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR, KDM), Ulrich Bathmann (IOW) | Foto: Marie Heidenreich, Projektträger Jülich

24.01.2019 | Representatives of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) today/recently presented the results of the agenda processes "Coast in Transition" and "Blue Ocean" to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) at Vertretung des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern beim Bund.

From ZMT side, social scientists Professor Achim Schlüter ("Coast in Transition") and Professor Anna-Katharina Hornidge ("Blue Ocean") were involved in developing the agenda results. Both were present at the handover in Berlin.

For the agenda processes, initiated by the BMBF in cooperation with KDM as part of the Federal Government's research programme "MARE:N - Coastal, Marine and Polar Research for Sustainability", experts from coastal and marine research together with stakeholders from society and politics worked out vital challenges for the future of our coastal seas and oceans led by the overarching question: What knowledge do we need to preserve the diversity and beauty of coasts and oceans and secure their resources for future generations in the long term?

Following the presentation of results to the BMBF, representatives from science, politics and society discussed future topics in coastal and marine research. “One of the impulses that we as a ministry would like to bring into the German marine sciences is the systematic integration of the social sciences and the humanities into the research processes,” said Volker Rieke (BMBF). Karin Lochte (former Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research) emphasised the relevance of marine research for shaping international cooperation and Germany's responsibility as an industrial nation to contribute to a sustainable approach to the sea through internationally accessible research.

They were joined in the discussion by Ulrike Haupt (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development - BMZ) and Marco Weydert (EU Commission), which was moderated by Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR).

You can find the concept papers here: https://www.fona.de/de/kuesten-meeres-und-polarforschung-fuer-nachhaltigkeit-19764.html

See also news on fona website: https://www.fona.de/de/forschung-fuer-die-zukunft-der-meere-24187.html

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