IV Semana Oceânica

One Ocean, One Climate, One Future - Together

Abstract

With the aim of integrating people from the Blue Planet, spreading ocean culture, disseminating knowledge in favour of biodiversity conservation and ocean health, promoting citizen science and female empowerment, the IV Paraíba Ocean Week (IV SOPB) was organised under the theme ‘One Ocean, One Climate, One Future - Together’, established by the United Nations in allusion to Ocean Day. Organised by civil society organisations - Associação Guajiru and Instituto de Pesquisa e Ação (InPact) - the IV SOPB was co-organised by the Postgraduate Programme in Development and the Environment (PRODEMA) at the Federal University of Paraíba, and the Ocean Justice project of the Postgraduate Programme in Law and Social Justice (PPGDJS/FADIR) at the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), as well as by celebrities and institutions that work responsibly on this issue. With the support of private companies and partnerships with public institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the involvement of the People of the Sea (indigenous people, fishermen, shellfish gatherers, holders of traditional knowledge), divers, educators, students, sportspeople, artists, recreationalists, ocean users and many others, nine municipalities along the coast of Paraíba were covered over 14 days. With the aim of creating a space for collaborative dialogue, various activities were offered (themed exhibitions, cultural shows, roundtables, diving experiments, workshops and wellness practices, nature experiences) and relevant recommendations were generated, such as the production of the motion ‘For the quality of the Goiana River Water’ - a document requesting the state to standardise the protocols to be carried out by institutions and citizens in relation to emerging situations (incidents and strandings) involving aquatic fauna and water quality, which also compromise human health. Following the premise of the global movement for the ‘Decade of the Ocean’ and the ‘Decade of Ecosystem Restoration’, since 2021, Ocean Week has been held, bringing from the global to the local, a network of knowledge and activities, to raise awareness in a single tide, both for those who live in coastal areas and those who live far from the coast, of how our lives are dependent on the Ocean, influenced by the Climate and that we are having the possibility of charting A Future - Together!