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The workshop is part of the first steps to establish Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in marine sciences and biodiversity in support of the country’s blue economy ambitions and improved climate adaptation, following the launch of the initiative at the UNOC-3 conference in Nice in May 2025.
The CoEs, jointly implemented with UNDESA and several academic and research partners in Brazil, Germany, Portugal and Spain – including UNESCO Chairs and Category 2 Centres – is a strategic initiative under UNESCO’s Operational Strategy for SIDS (2023-2029) Accelerator Programme for Oceans and Freshwater Resilience. The initiative aims to strengthen national institutions in SIDS as hubs for marine sciences and biodiversity, build human and institutional capacities for applied research and connect countries through regional and South-South-North partnerships. It supports scientific autonomy in Lusophone SIDS and promotes knowledge generation through marine sciences research and academic training to inform evidence-based policymaking and action for sustainable blue economy development, and climate action, through national leadership and regional cooperation.
The regional workshop resulted in a consensus on the three thematic areas for each future Centre of Excellence:
- Cabo Verde, building on the extensive experience of its Ocean Science Centre Mindelo will focus on Coastal and Ocean Observation and Integrated Data System. The emphasis will be on monitoring marine biodiversity and habitats, improving data accessibility and interoperability, and connecting oceanographic information with socio-economic data to support decision-making.
- Guinea-Bissau, reflecting the interdependency between coastal populations and their marine ecosystems highlighting the nexus between livelihoods & biodiversity and conservation & food security – a transversal priority linking all three SIDS – will focus on strengthening Science for Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods. The emphasis will be on artisanal fishery in marine and aquatic systems, with a focus on strengthening sustainable management and monitoring, through an active community engagement, bringing the natural and the social and human sciences together in a symbiotic collaboration of science for the people.
- São Tomé and Príncipe will focus on Marine biodiversity and Sustainable Ecotourism, aiming to protect the significant and endemic biodiversity in the 3 countries and reducing the current strong dependency on artisanal fisheries of local populations by leveraging science to broaden and diversify livelihoods and economic development through enhanced sustainable blue tourism.
Key partners join forces to support Lusophone SIDS
Strategic partners such as GEOMAR, the Universities of Minho, Algarve, and Coimbra as well as international institutions as the AIR Center, the Lusophone Hub for the Ocean Decade and the UN (UNDESA and FAO) joined the meeting online, expressing their support for this initiative, reinforcing South-South-North triangular cooperation. The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) facilitated the workshop bringing in their extensive expertise in promoting marine sciences as well as their collaborative history with the three SIDS.
Integration of gender equality and promoting Chairs in SIDS
Complementing the discussions, UNESCO’s Director of Gender Equality, Begonia Lasagabaster, presented the findings of the publication “Uncharted Waters: An Exploration for Gender Equality and the Ocean”, highlighting: “As SIDS, you are the large ocean states. We need you drive data collection and help preserve and share the unique knowledge of indigenous women, but also to encourage more women and girls to pursue careers in ocean sciences and take up decision-making positions.” Programme Specialist Donia Allani, presented on gender inequality in Ocean Science and gender gap in the blue economy, along with related policy recommendations. Additionally, Programme Specialist Maya Prince from the Education Sectors, building on the concept of excellence, presented on the UNESCO Chairs, exploring the possibility for establishing the first Chair in Marine sciences in the AIS Region.
Looking ahead
The workshop marked a decisive shift from political commitment to operational planning, defining concrete national research and training priorities within a regional framework. By building scientific autonomy, strengthening institutions, and aligning with global ocean commitments, Lusophone SIDS are positioning themselves as large ocean states strengthening their capacity and laying the ground for leading regional cooperation.
This successful workshop was possible through a unique combination of financial contributions from UNESCO’s Regular Programme, seed funding from the Government of Luxembourg, and contributions from the Participation Programme from Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau. IPMA, contributed with technical support for the facilitation of the exercise while the Latvian company Tilde helped remove language barriers though the provision of AI-driven machine translation of live multilingual transcription during the workshop.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/advancing-centres-excellence-marine-sciences-and-biodiversity-lusophone-sids?hub=701
