The ocean is recognised as essential for meeting climate change and biodiversity targets under international agreements, including the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Tracking progress against these international agreements requires dedicated, coordinated and sustained observations of the ocean and the marine life that contribute to maintaining ecosystem functions such as carbon storage and release, nutrient cycling, and provision of food resources.
A globally coordinated and sustained ocean observing system is essential to assess the ocean's state and its biological resources nationally, regionally and internationally. The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), coordinated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, is a global network of observing systems collecting data on ocean physics, biogeochemistry and biology. The GOOS expert panel on biology and ecosystems, composed of 22 international experts, guides the standardised, sustained, and coordinated observing of ocean biology focused on 12 Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) relevant to science, society and international governance.
Collaborating closely with the scientific community, including regional observation systems such as Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System, the Panel develops resources that can be applied across the whole delivery pathway from observations to data products that help track progress against biodiversity and climate goals.