Project: One Ocean Hub

Reimagining Ocean Knowledge for a Just and Sustainable Future

A different way of understanding the ocean

The future of the ocean depends not only on better science, but on who has the opportunity to create knowledge, whose voices are recognised, and how decisions about the ocean are made.

One Ocean Hub is an international programme for research for sustainable development that brings together marine scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, artists, policymakers, Indigenous Peoples, coastal communities and civil society organisations to explore new approaches to ocean governance.

The Hub recognises that ocean challenges cannot be solved through scientific knowledge alone. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, resource use and competing demands for ocean space are deeply connected to questions of rights, livelihoods, culture and justice.

Through collaborative research across Africa, the South Pacific, South Asia and international policy arenas, One Ocean Hub is working to transform how ocean knowledge is created, shared and used. Rather than seeing communities as recipients of scientific information, the Hub works with people as partners in generating knowledge and shaping solutions.

Explore One Ocean Hub → https://oneoceanhub.org/

The human right to science

At the heart of One Ocean Hub is the belief that everyone has the right to participate in and benefit from science.

Access to scientific knowledge, research infrastructure and decision-making processes remains unequal around the world. At the same time, valuable knowledge held by communities, Indigenous Peoples and people whose lives are closely connected to the ocean has often been overlooked in marine governance.

The Hub seeks to change this by bringing different ways of knowing together. Scientific research is combined with legal expertise, cultural knowledge, lived experience and creative practice to develop approaches that are more inclusive, equitable and relevant.

This is not simply about communicating science more effectively. It is about changing who is involved in producing knowledge and ensuring that ocean decisions reflect a wider range of perspectives.

Knowledge, rights and communities

One Ocean Hub’s approach is demonstrated through partnerships with communities whose lives are directly connected to the ocean.

Along Namibia’s coast, the Hub has worked with the Topnaar community to explore relationships between ocean heritage, cultural knowledge and marine governance. Through collaborative research, storytelling and engagement, this work has highlighted the importance of recognising connections between people and place, while supporting greater visibility of community knowledge in discussions about the future of coastal environments.

Similarly, work with small-scale fishing communities in South Africa has explored how marine governance can better recognise livelihoods, cultural rights and social justice. Research with women in fishing communities has examined how inclusive approaches can strengthen participation and ensure that those most affected by ocean decisions have a meaningful voice in shaping them.

These examples demonstrate a central principle of One Ocean Hub: sustainable ocean governance must include the people who depend on the ocean and the knowledge they hold.

Explore One Ocean Hub impact stories → https://oneoceanhub.org/impact-stories/

Creating new ways to communicate ocean knowledge

One Ocean Hub also recognises that knowledge is communicated in many forms.

Creative approaches – including film, theatre, visual arts, storytelling and participatory methods – are used alongside scientific research to explore human relationships with the ocean and create new spaces for dialogue.

Projects such as Empatheatre in South Africa use performance and storytelling to bring together communities, researchers and decision-makers, helping people understand different experiences and perspectives around ocean change.

These approaches allow research findings to reach wider audiences while creating opportunities for conversations that may not happen through traditional scientific communication alone.

From local knowledge to global ocean governance

A key ambition of One Ocean Hub is to connect local experiences with national and international decision-making.

The programme works with researchers, governments, communities and organisations to explore how evidence can support fairer and more sustainable ocean governance. By creating links between research and policy, the Hub helps ensure that decisions about the ocean are informed by both scientific understanding and the realities of those most connected to marine environments.

This approach contributes to wider discussions around ocean justice, sustainable development and the UN Ocean Decade vision of a healthy and resilient ocean supported by inclusive knowledge.

One Ocean Hub and the UN Ocean Decade → https://oceandecade.org/actions/one-ocean-hub/

Research activities

One Ocean Hub’s commitment to equitable knowledge extends from coastal communities to one of Earth’s least explored environments: the deep ocean.

Through Research Programme 4: Advancing the Human Right to Science through Capacity Building for Deep-Sea Research, the Hub contributes to Challenger 150’s objectives by applying principles of partnership, inclusion and training to deep-sea science.

Working with partners in Namibia and South Africa, the programme combines biodiversity research with long-term investment in regional scientific capability. Researchers are studying deep-sea ecosystems while creating opportunities for training, collaboration and leadership development among scientists, institutions, and indigenous peoples in the region.

The programme demonstrates that exploration of the deep ocean is not only about discovering new species and ecosystems – it is also about ensuring that the ability to study, understand and manage these environments is shared more equitably.

Learn more about Research Programme 4 → https://oneoceanhub.org/advancing-human-right-to-science-through-capacity-building-for-deep-sea-research/

Looking ahead

One Ocean Hub’s legacy will not only be the scientific knowledge it produces, but the changes it creates in how knowledge is generated and used.

By bringing together different disciplines, communities and ways of knowing, the programme is developing new models for ocean governance based on collaboration, equity and shared responsibility.

Through its contribution to Challenger 150, One Ocean Hub will continue advancing deep-sea research while strengthening the partnerships and capacity needed to understand and protect the ocean for future generations.

A sustainable ocean requires excellent science—but it also requires fairness in who participates in creating that science and whose knowledge shapes the decisions that follow.