The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) is a pan-European intergovernmental platform that increases the efficiency and impact of research and innovation for sustainably healthy and productive seas and oceans. VLIZ is commissioned by the Flemish government to support the JPI Oceans Secretariat. This support included providing a full-time employee to the JPI Oceans secretariat in Brussels. Additionally, VLIZ hosts the JPI Oceans website and offers technical support for updating and further developing he site.
In 2024, JPI Oceans demonstrated significant progress in achieving impactful outcomes across its portfolio of Joint Actions. The initiative produced several notable publications, such as a comprehensive assessment report on sea level rise, a synthesis of research findings on microplastics, and a technical handbook on cumulative effects assessment in marine environments. Other deliverables included interactive visualization tools for ocean observing systems, and the launch of an information portal focused on marine munitions.
Research funding activities continued with the successful launch of a targeted call addressing the consequences of changing marine lightscapes, resulting in the selection of two research projects. Another call focused on the ecological aspects of deep-sea mining and funded a large integrated project.
The past year marked significant progress in ongoing Joint Actions, with 58 projects led by JPI Oceans and its partners achieving key milestones. These projects covered multiple strategic areas including underwater noise (5 projects), blue bioeconomy (17), climate-ocean nexus (4), food and nutrition (1), ocean sustainability (13), and aquatic pollutants (19).
Several long-standing Joint Actions were successfully completed, notably the flagship initiative on ecological aspects of microplastics. Other completed actions addressed cumulative effects of human activities, climate science for oceans, food and nutrition security, and the transdisciplinary research for ocean sustainability supported by the Belmont Forum.
New initiatives were developed to address emerging priorities. These initiatives included elevating of the Marinas Scoping Action to full Joint Action status, extending the offshore freshened groundwater scoping status, and initiating formal scoping for marine oxygen deficiency research. In response to emerging scientific concerns, JPI Oceans partnered with JPI Climate to support an assessment of potential changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
The organisation's science-policy interface activities included two major events in Brussels: the inaugural Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership Symposium at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the JPI Oceans Strategic Navigation Forum at the Comic Art Museum. Additional knowledge exchange activities included focused webinars on underwater noise and sea level rise. JPI Oceans further maintained its international presence through active participation in major ocean events, including the UN Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona, the European Maritime Day in Svendborg, and Ocean Week in Brussels, where it led sessions on sea level rise, blue carbon, underwater noise, and ocean literacy.