Jahr: 2021

Turning the Tide: Towards Marine Carbon Observation 2.0

Together with colleagues from the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR), the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research (IOW), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), the Bundesamt fuer Schifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH), and Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), researchers of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) aim to take marine carbon observations to the next level in a new project.

Funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) for a duration of three years, the project C-SCOPE was officially kicked off on 11 February  in a virtual meeting. The interdisciplinary team aims to improve data quality, fill observation gaps, and improve knowledge production on marine CO₂ across multiple observation networks and stakeholders, focusing on three key regions: the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation system, the Baltic Sea and the Amazon rainforest system in South America.

At DIE, Director Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge (Project Lead), Mirja Schoderer (Post-Doc) and Ramona Hägele (PhD) will assess how knowledge on marine CO₂ observations is produced. They will look into the cognitive, technological, social and political processes that play a role in knowledge production within the research project itself, as well as practices and structures of inter- and transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Engaging closely with diverse stakeholders, the project aims to develop a concept for relevant, reliable and accessible ocean science under the headline of Open Ocean Science and to address existing inequalities and power dynamics in marine carbon observations, contributing to an engaging ocean with more equitable data access as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Keep up with the C-SCOPE team and follow them on Twitter!

Democracy and human development require the participation of citizens, analysts, and policymakers from all walks of life. The European Democracy Hub — a new platform for research-based discussion on European democracy support — seeks to engage stakeholders and offer solutions to democratic challenges. Dr Julia Leininger, Head of Programme at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and member of the European Democracy Hub, engaged in a panel debate with European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen and the Variety of Democracy Institute’s director Staffan I. Lindberg. “The starting point for our work on democracy is having evidence-based information,” said the EU Commissioner. Julia Leininger highlighted the need for mutual accountability in international support to democracy and that the EU needs to do its “homework” by openly acknowledging its member states’ democratic challenges in order to remain a legitimate partner in this field.

Re-watch the discussion here:

For more insights into the effectiveness, legitimacy and forms of democracy promotion see DIE’s web special Why it is worth to support and protect democracy worldwide.