Earlier this year the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality approached the University to form part of the bid application committee for host stopovers in the 2021-22 Edition of The Ocean Race (TOR).
As an international living laboratory for excellent ocean science research investigating integrated ocean management for healthy oceans, the University agreed to form part of the project and will host the summit, should the city be successful.
Healthy oceans provide essential services for humans and sustained ecological infrastructure required to mitigate climate change. This was a key theme discussed at the Ocean Race team’s visit. The visit was part of their due diligence in selecting the host cities that will succeed from the shortlisted applications. The team was also taken on a tour of the facilities.
The aim of the summit is to generate discussions and create local relevance, while sending out a call to action, asking for a commitment by governments and industries to ensure healthy and sustainable oceans.
The University hopes the application will be successful and supports this initiative in line with our ocean science positioning in the global arena.
