On October 8th, 2021, 4-6 PM UTC, we introduced the AIR Centre | Caribbean and respective opportunities for an Atlantic basin collaboration. Caribbean countries and overseas territories have a long history of interactions and many common challenges and shared goals. Nonetheless, barriers for scientific and technological cooperation persist, which sometimes hampers the development of collaborative solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss, destruction of habitats, natural hazards, marine pollution, unequal economic growth and its impacts on rural and urban livelihoods. Preserving and restoring Caribbean marine and coastal resources and fostering effective partnerships for small islands developing states will require stronger international cooperation not only within the region, but with other countries around the Atlantic Ocean as well.

On July 9th, 2021, 1-3 PM UTC,  the Networking Friday on the All-Atlantic Pledging Campaign discussed the existing commitments and the way forward to better understand, care and protect our threatened Atlantic ocean. Every day we hear or read about the ever-growing list of threats that our ocean is now facing due mostly by human action or inaction. From global warming and habitat destruction to marine pollution and overfishing, marine ecosystems and biodiversity are severely impacted, so urgent global action is needed to immediately revert current trends and to broadly restore and preserve the ocean’s health for future generations.

On June 11th, 2021, 1-2 PM UTC, Isa Elegbede, Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Cottbus, Germany, discussed how to integrate approaches in seafood certifications through socio-ecological and technological inclusiveness in the Blue Economy. The moderator was Ife Okafor-Yarwood is a Lecturer in Sustainable Development at the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews.