One Ocean Hub

The One Ocean Hub is an international programme of research for sustainable development, working to promote fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean whereby people and the planet can flourish

The One Ocean Hub aims to transform our response to the urgent challenges facing our ocean and influence decisions and practices that shape the future of the ocean by promoting sustainability and justice. Our research seeks to bridge current disconnections in law, science and policy and integrate governance frameworks to balance multiple ocean uses with conservation. We strive to empower communities – especially women and children – most reliant upon the oceans to inform decisions based on multiple values and knowledge systems. We bring together coastal people, researchers, decision makers, civil society, and international organisations to value, and learn from, different forms of knowledge and voices.

Our 126 researchers specifically address challenges and opportunities in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Fiji and Solomon Islands, through collaborative and transdisciplinary research. We also have an area of ‘international’ work that focuses on international law and policy governing the ocean.

Why we do this

The ocean provides over half of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs our carbon dioxide, provides us with food, and supports the livelihood of millions of people. Climate change, over-fishing, ocean plastics and many other pressures are posing a serious threat to the ocean and to the planet as a whole. There is a growing global awareness of the various threats to ocean health, and we are seeing efforts from the global to the local levels to respond to them. Nevertheless, the actions of government and associations are often disconnected and uncoordinated and frequently end up excluding those communities which are most reliant upon the ocean. The Hub seeks to promote a genuinely inclusive approach to ocean governance, which is urgently needed.

What we do

The Hub’s research programmes focus on:

1. Blue Economy and Society. We are researching the ways in which blue economies are developing and seek to understand how these models relate to global commitments to sustainability and human rights.
2. Capacity Strengthening. We apply a multi-level strategy to capacity strengthening that will help all actors to enact their responsibilities to protect the ocean for the benefit of all.
3. Marine Spatial Planning. We are exploring ways in which we can ‘connect the disconnects’ in ocean governance processes and make sure Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) involves stakeholders across all affected sectors and groups.
4. Environmental and Human Rights Law. We are seeking to advance our understanding of how basic human rights belonging to everyone are affected by the ocean, notably by marine ecosystem services, with a view to including these considerations in decision-making at all levels.
5. Ocean Culture. Our collaborative research programme advocates that art, in all its forms, is a powerful vehicle to elevate the views of marginalised groups who are largely underrepresented in global debates about the future of the ocean.

The One Ocean Hub is led by the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK), and it has 18 partner organisations and 21 research partners across the world. The Hub is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) – a key component in delivering the UK AID strategy that puts UK-led research at the heart of efforts to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Our Vision

Fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean whereby people and planet flourish.

Our Mission

The One Ocean Hub brings together coastal people, researchers and decision-makers to value and learn from different knowledge(s) and voices. We collaboratively influence decisions and practices shaping the future of the ocean for justice and sustainability.