Background:
At the last meeting of POGO in São Paulo, much of the discussion
focused on the need for improved observations of the oceans in the
Southern Hemisphere. Many of the challenges that face mankind today
(climate change, collapsing fisheries and rising sea level, to name
only a few) are global in scope. Our response to these challenges
must be based on knowledge of how the world oceans act as a system.
Yet, the oceans remain grossly undersampled, and the Southern Hemisphere
much more so than the Northern Hemisphere. The issue cannot be addressed
without recognising a geopolitical reality: most of the oceans are
in the Southern Hemisphere, and most of the major economies in the
Northern Hemisphere. A concerted effort at the global level is needed
to solve this problem. A key result of the deliberations at POGO-2
was the São Paulo Declaration, which was adopted unanimously
by all the participants at the meeting.
