Ocean Panel–Commissioned Research  

The Blue Papers explore pressing challenges at the nexus of the ocean and the economy, providing thematic deep dives into a range of topics and offering a robust knowledge base to inform a new ocean report and the Ocean Panel’s action agenda. 

In the spirit of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, providing value to the UN Decade of Ocean Science and meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the Ocean Panel commissioned a comprehensive assessment of ocean science and knowledge that has significant policy relevance. This assessment includes a series of 16 Blue Papers and Special Reports that that will inform the Ocean Panel’s action agenda, shape the new ocean narrative and identify opportunities to facilitate the transition to a sustainable ocean economy. These papers and reports are an independent input to the Ocean Panel process and do not represent the thinking of the Ocean Panel.

This research has been created with inputs from over 250 experts, from 48 countries from the Ocean Panel Expert Group and beyond—44% of whom are women.  

This body of work has informed the new Ocean Panel–commissioned report. It has also informed the Ocean Panel’s deliberations and new ocean action agenda—anchored by a headline commitment from the countries to sustainably manage 100% of their national waters. This demonstrates that policy at the highest level is being informed by peer-reviewed research, and underscores the important role science can play in bettering the world we live in. 

Many of the Blue Papers have been adapted and released in the science journal Nature and some of its sister journals. 

In this special podcast, Jane Lubchenco, marine ecologist and former co-chair of the Ocean Panel's Expert Group, explains what the Ocean Panel has committed to, what it involves and why it matters.