New Research Project Set to Strengthen Ocean Knowledge
The launch of the new research project The Ocean Decade Blue Catalyst (bLYSs) was marked last week, coinciding with a wrap-up of the ECOCARE research project.
Students and researchers gathered at UiT The Arctic University of Norway to take part in an interactive workshop that concluded the ECOCARE project and celebrated the beginning of bLYSs. Through various activities centred on the interrelationship between nature and humans, ecology and interpersonal connection, participants discussed emotions, water, and the right to accessibility for all.
A cultural exchange lunch was also organised, during which participants brought a favourite dish and shared personal stories about their relationship with food. The lunch showcased a rich diversity of narratives, both cultural, familial, and connected to nature, and shared through local and global reflections and perspectives.
Closing of ECOCARE
ECOCARE, short for An Exchange Programme on Empathy, Compassion and Care in Water Governance from the Perspective of Integral Ecology, was initiated in 2021. Since then, the project leaders, Margherita Poto (UiT) and Giulia Parola (Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro), have worked to enhance legal education programmes in Norway and Brazil, while developing community-driven research grounded in an innovative model of collaboration for water governance with a strong emphasis on ecological perspectives.
The project has been a collaboration between the Faculty of Law at UiT, UNIRIO – Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, representatives of the Indigenous Chiquitano people from Mato Grosso in Brazil, and two law firms. Through this broad partnership, the project has brought forward diverse and valuable perspectives on governance practices, the organisation and planning of water resource use, sustainability, and Indigenous knowledge systems.
New Research Project Kick-off
From 2025 to 2027, Margherita Poto from the Faculty of Law at UiT will lead the two-year research project bLYSs – The Ocean Decade Blue Catalyst. Poto is an expert in environmental and ocean governance, Arctic governance, and Indigenous Peoples' rights. At a time when the oceans are facing increasing pressures, bLYSs represents a significant step toward a more sustainable future, aiming to raise awareness of climate and environmental issues across multiple levels through research and education.
Based on the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, bLYSs aims to promote ocean knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustainable action in both Arctic and non-Arctic communities.
- My aim with this project is to develop innovative workshops and workshop materials, create spaces for collaboration and networking, and contribute with research and joy to the Ocean Decade, Poto explains.
bLYSs builds on a previous research project led by Poto, The Ocean Incubator Network. Elements from that project, which was centred on raising ocean literacy and awareness around sustainability and the environment, will be incorporated into the new initiative.
- Together with my team, I hope to expand on the previous project and develop a solid platform where we strengthen our efforts to protect the ocean. The project will include activities developed by our members in Sinai and Tanzania, and a shared theoretical framework in collaboration with our UArctic partners, she adds.
Also research, partnerships, and activities from ECOCARE will be implemented into bLYSs. For Poto, the projects she has led are interconnected, each with a focus on improving educational quality, fostering international collaboration, and advancing research on ocean sustainability and the environment.
- I see all of these projects as a constellation, with beams of light connecting them. They simply build upon and reinforce each other, Poto reflects.
Text and photos by Charlotte Buksrud / UiT.