Exciting discussion unfolding. C2B2 has published an article on “The New Blue” in Open Access Government.
The ocean is taking on a whole new role as the blue economy expands. In an article in the journal Open Access Government, four researchers affiliated with C2B2 – Jessica Hjerpe Olausson and Daniel Richardsson from RISE, Richard Hawkins from the University of Calgary, and Torsten Linders, program manager at C2B2 – present a new perspective on the 70% of Earth’s surface covered by ocean.
– Major changes are underway, with the human presence in the ocean increasing rapidly, says Torsten Linders.
Why did you write the article?
– We wanted to highlight an exciting discussion that is bubbling up within the blue economy and within C2B2. Most discussions are about fairly tangible things that are pressing in the near future. But it is also important that we have the courage to look up and think about questions that lie a little further in time, questions where not all the answers are available today, but where there are still clear indications of the direction in which development is going.
The article in Open Access Government raises several dilemmas with what could be called the expansion of the ocean. What dilemmas do you see?
– Indeed, we highlight not only dilemmas but also opportunities. The most serious dilemma is if we fail to recognize the dramatic nature of the changes that are taking place. Then we will constantly fall behind in terms of both regulations and seizing opportunities.
Can the expansion of the ocean environment provide new important knowledge? You mention, among other things, that companies that establish themselves in the ocean environment can provide new interesting data?
– Absolutely. But it is easy to be naive and believe that it will come by itself or that it will automatically bring great benefits to everyone. Digitalization is a megatrend that is sweeping our entire society. Two clear challenges are about cybersecurity and moving from data to useful knowledge. There are many actors who can and want to share data, in principle. But doing it in a way that creates benefit, without serious risks, is often more difficult than you think. Maybe you shouldn’t always share raw data, but instead stick to processed information?
You compare it to the expansion of space, what do you mean?
– We use the term “new blue” because we want to free ride on the fairly established term “new space”. There are several parallels between space and the ocean. Both are areas where it has traditionally been difficult and expensive to work, but where we are now seeing an explosion of accessibility and of different actors.
More information: Read the full article in Open Access Government, click here.