May 20, 2020 – REV Ocean is honored to be joining this amazing global network of over 9,500 companies and 3,000 non-business participants that are committed to building a sustainable future.
Working together with the Ocean Action Platform and their network of progressive companies will help REV Ocean achieve our mission of safeguarding the marine environment and striving towards #OneHealthyOcean.
The Sustainable Ocean Principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) serve as a baseline to ensure companies meet the minimum expectations of a holistic approach to sustainability aligned with the SDGs. The UNGC has also identified 5 Tipping Points for Healthy and Productive Ocean by 2030, which serves as a framework for setting clear KPIs to deliver on the SDGs.
Upcoming events to keep an eye on:
May 28 – Launch of ‘Ocean Stewardship 2030’ report
May 29 – Live announcement of #RebootTheOcean winning solutions on the SAP Purpose Network
June 2 – High-level Meeting on Sustainable Ocean Business. Please register here.
June 15-16 – UN Global Compact Leaders Summit – featuring special sessions on sustainable ocean business
A new Ocean Panel Blue Paper led by REV Ocean Science Director Alex Rogers, increases our understanding of ocean trends by analysing the links between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (including tipping points for degradation) and unpacks the link between protection and gross domestic product (GDP). In doing so, the paper provides an updated catalogue of marine habitats and biodiversity and outlines five priorities for changing the current trajectory of decline.
Despite advances in understanding how marine species and habitats are distributed in the ocean, trends in marine biodiversity are difficult to ascertain. This results from the very patchy state of knowledge of marine biodiversity, which leads to biases in understanding different geographic areas, groups of species, habitat distribution and patterns of decline.
To address the data gap in our understanding of marine biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, it is crucial to establish the capacity to assess current baselines and trends through survey and monitoring activities. Only increased knowledge and understanding of the above will be able to inform ocean management and conservation strategies capable of reversing the current loss trend in marine biodiversity.
REV Ocean supports mangrove restoration for CO2 removal and community development
In REV Ocean we want to keep our environmental footprint to a minimum, and ensure we are “planet positive”. To compensate for our footprint, REV Ocean has chosen mangrove restoration, as the means for offsetting our carbon emissions by financially supporting a myclimate project in the Ayeyarwady Delta in Myanmar. The project not only removes carbon from the atmosphere, but also secures villagers’ livelihoods and protects endangered species. In addition, we are doing everything that we can to limit the extent of our travels and CO2 footprint, and we will take further measures outside of this offsetting mechanism wherever possible.
Between the 1980s and the start of the project in 2015, the Ayeyarwady Delta in Myanmar had lost 80% of its original mangrove forest coverage. This was primarily driven by clearance for shrimp farms, palm oil fields and charcoal production.
As these mangrove forests are being restored, they sequester a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere as they absorb carbon dioxide at up to 40 to 50 times the rate of terrestrial forests.
Community development
Mangrove forests offer substantial economic benefits. A key driver for clearing mangrove forests is income generation for a local population where 60% of villagers did not have a secure job at the start of this project.
The payment for carbon credits now funds training for women in natural textile coloring and dress making, and supports villagers in clam aquaculture and other community enterprises.
The project also supports long-term job creation by investing in education through solar panels and computers for schools, lamps for households, and scholarships.
By functioning as a natural defense line against high tides resulting from cyclones or tsunamis, they also protect economic infrastructure against damages. Moreover, mangrove forests attract a wide variety of marine life by creating ideal nurseries for fish and other marine animals that villagers can subsequently catch at sustainable levels.
Protecting endangered species
In addition to services that are beneficial to local villagers, the project also supports biodiversity restoration and endangered species. One of the main activities has been establishing the first mangrove gene reserve in Myanmar with 64 mangrove species, all of which provide habitat for the local dugong and the Green and Hawksbill sea turtle populations.
Participation and local ownership
A range of stakeholders are involved in the project to ensure fairness, ownership and long-term support. These include first and foremost the villagers themselves, but also bodies of local authorities and two local universities. The project has been developed and is implemented by the Worldview International Foundation and its carbon sequestration is accredited by Verified Carbon Standard.
Limiting our carbon footprint
REV Ocean has supported the project financially by buying carbon credits, facilitated by myclimate, that offset CO2-emissions from our work-related flights. The total amount of emissions from flights from 2018 and 2019 that we have offset is 284.11 tCO2e. As a result of Covid-19, all our work travels since March 2020 have come to a halt, but we will continue to offset our future CO2-emissions through this initiative. We are also making calculations to compensate for the construction and operations of our research vessel.
Fornebu, Norway, March 16, 2020 – REV Ocean has hired Elin Signe Askvik to Captain the 182.9-meter-long state of the art research expedition vessel (REV) and is a core member of the team fulfilling our mission to create one healthy ocean. Captain Elin comes from Swire Seabed AS where she spent more than nine years supporting ROV missions, AUV operations, and ultra-deep-water marine salvage worldwide. Her tenure includes operations in remote areas and High Risk Piracy Areas.
“We are proud to welcome Elin to our team. Our mantra is to ‘work with the best’. As the vessel undergoes outfitting with the latest science and research technology Elin brings extensive experience to support critical testing and preparations for 2020 sea trails and our maiden voyage in 2021.” said REV Ocean CEO, Nina Jensen.
Elin is originally from Askvik in Osterfjorden north of Bergen. Elin started her career on various cargo carriers, later joining Hurtigruten where she got to explore parts of the Arctic region, then moving into Offshore Construction and salvage business where she have worked for the last 10 years. In adition to her capacity as an maritime officer, she is also active on several marine boards, including Oster Shipping.
“The ocean is my favourite place to be – on it, in it or by it. After 20 years of working at the sea, I’ve become more and more eager to work for the sea. Having a glowing passion for subsea exploration and also to raise the focus on the blue environment, it makes perfect sense to join REV Ocean. The REV team will have a voice that will reach the world, and it will be a privilege to use that voice to help save the oceans.” Captain Elin
REV Ocean will be opening its first call for proposals for research and innovation projects on board RV REV Ocean in March/April 2020. We are looking for the best marine scientists and innovators globally, to focus on solutions to three of the most important challenges facing the ocean today:
• Plastic pollution;
• Climate change / ocean acidification;
• Overfishing and destructive fishing impacts.
To ensure research proposals are of the highest quality and match with REV Ocean selection criteria, all projects will be evaluated in a thorough and transparent international peer-reviewed process. The successful proposals will have access to the vessel and its equipment for cruises in 2022. The date of announcement and closing for this call will be relatively short, so please follow us on social media and our website to be alerted when the call opens.
IOC of UNESCO and REV Ocean agree on solutions-oriented initiatives to support
the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
Copenhagen, Feb 28, 2020. Today a milestone agreement was signed between REV Ocean and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO that will usher in a decade of ocean solutions through advancing global ocean data sharing and application, providing unique opportunities for researchers and marine management, including in developing countries, and carrying out a range of other critically needed actions.
Areas of collaboration:
REV Ocean CEO Nina Jensen said: “We are super-excited to be working with the IOC, which is an extremely important organization for fostering international cooperation in ocean research and management. This is a partnership that is designed to achieve concrete and important results for the health of the ocean, and we can’t wait to get started on our joint initiatives. We will be strong supporters of the UN Decade of Ocean Science and tailor our activities to maximize synergies. We encourage everyone in the ocean space to do the same.”
Together, REV Ocean and IOC will develop an Ocean Data and Information System to significantly improve the availability of ocean data and information, and to enable open source products and services catered to the needs of a broad community of users, including academia and ocean management institutions. The Ocean Data Foundation, which is founded by REV Ocean, will play an instrumental role in developing this system.
REV Ocean will make the state of the art, 182-meter research vessel available to train scientists from developing countries who will address core issues of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. In particular, the focus will be on ways to involve young scientists in research undertaken on the vessel.
“Everyone, and in this case every research vessel, has his or her role in the journey to a sustainable ocean, helping take our brightest minds to distant and less accessible parts of the ocean and convert their observations into knowledge that can raise awareness and shape solutions-oriented policies for science-based management of the ocean. Whether through this amazing vessel, or its work in raising awareness, or its innovative approaches to open ocean data, REV Ocean will be a true champion and key contributor to global work on the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,” commented Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of UNESCO’s IOC to welcome the partnership.
The cooperation will also support the Ocean Decade Alliance as an effective platform to showcase the co-design and delivery of science-based solutions for ocean sustainability. Together the organisations will raise awareness about the Decade and its Alliance and encourage the engagement and commitments of the private sector towards the Decade goals.
Upcoming highlights include a planned event on board the REV Ocean vessel when it is in New York for the 2021 UN General Assembly. This is a unique opportunity to engage philanthropic support for IOC and the activities of the Decade and to build links between ocean science and business solutions.
REV Ocean will also support IOC work in Ocean Literacy and Capacity Development, through live streaming from the vessel and when the ship is docked in ports where people can interact with scientists on-board. This also includes activities in support of the IOC Ocean Teacher Global Academy.
About REV Ocean
REV Ocean is a not-for-profit company founded in June 2017 by Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Rokke with one overarching purpose, creating solutions for a healthier ocean. Established in Fornebu, Norway, REV Ocean works to improve our knowledge of the ocean, make that knowledge more available and turn the knowledge into a new generation of ocean solutions and raise awareness of global impacts on the marine environment.
About IOC-UNESCO
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), established in 1960 as a body with functional autonomy within UNESCO, is a specialized organization for marine science within the UN system. The purpose of the Commission is to promote international cooperation and to coordinate programmes in research, services and capacity-building, in order to learn more about the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas and to apply that knowledge for the improvement of management, sustainable development, the protection of the marine environment, and the decision-making processes of its Member States.
Contact information:
REV Ocean
Lawrence Hislop
Communication Manager, REV Ocean
P: +47 48 50 05 14
E: lawrence.hislop@revocean.org
W: www.revocean.org
IOC
Vinicius Grünberg Lindoso
Communications Officer, IOC-UNESCO
P: +33 (0)1 45 68 11 70
E: v.lindoso@unesco.org
W: www.ioc.unesco.org
Copenhagen, Feb 28, 2020. Today an agreement was signed to commence a decade of ocean solutions focusing on Ocean Acidification and Plastic Pollution.
“We have long wanted to work on ocean acidification in the Arctic. It was identified as a place that was most likely to have its ocean chemistry in flux, but also a location with the least amount of observing coverage. We are about to change that together.” Mark Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation.
REV Ocean will provide a unique opportunity for researchers on board the 2021 maiden voyage with the support of The Ocean Foundation’s regional grant making efforts to connect donors with local science and conservation projects.
REV Ocean CEO Nina Jensen said: “We are excited to be working with The Ocean Foundation as they have built a robust global community of donors, government, and organisations focused on ocean conservation. This will enable us to find projects with the highest potential of success while pairing these projects with grants that can support the necessary research and testing to commercialise these solutions.”
Areas of collaboration include:
REV Ocean and The Ocean Foundation are also working towards finding the best solution to offset the unavoidable carbon emissions that come with operating a 182.9-meter research expedition vessel through the SeaGrass Grow blue carbon offset.
“Carbon offsetting is a challenging industry and we completed a comprehensive audit of a number of alternatives before selecting SeaGrass Grow. Our main criteria was to choose an efficient ocean offset project, to maximise our impact. Seagrass habitats are up to 35x more effective than Amazonian rainforests in their carbon uptake and storage abilities. Furthermore, our economic contribution to coastal restoration more than ten folds in economic benefits supporting a sustainable blue economy.”
About REV Ocean
REV Ocean is a not-for-profit company founded in June 2017 by Norwegian businessman Kjell Inge Rokke with one overarching purpose, creating solutions for a healthier ocean. Established in Fornebu, Norway, REV Ocean works to improve our knowledge of the ocean, make that knowledge more available and turn the knowledge into a new generation of ocean solutions and raise awareness of global impacts on the marine environment.
About The Ocean Foundation
As the only community foundation for the ocean, The Ocean Foundation’s 501(c)(3) mission is to support, strengthen, and promote those organisations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. We focus our collective expertise on emerging threats in order to generate cutting edge solutions and better strategies for implementation.
Contact information:
REV Ocean
Lawrence Hislop
Communication Manager
P: +47 48 50 05 14
E: lawrence.hislop@revocean.org
W: www.revocean.org
The Ocean Foundation
Jason Donofrio
External Relations Officer
P: +1 (602) 820-1913
E: jdonofrio@oceanfdn.org
W: https://oceanfdn.org/
Signing with Bjørn Tore Markussen (from left), Nina Jensen, Anne Husebekk and the leader of the Polar research committee at UiT, Jørgen Berge.
Photo: Jonatan Ottesen/UiT
Tromsø, 27 January 2019 – REV Ocean, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and The Ocean Data Foundation today signed a partnership agreement to conduct joint ocean research, education, and innovation. The agreement will also involve cooperation on a new Masters programme in Ocean Leadership.
Nina Jensen, CEO of REV Ocean said: We are delighted to be signing this important agreement with key partners who will help achieve our vision of One Healthy Ocean. Linking the best scientists and innovators from the UiT to our state-of-the-art research vessel, data platform, and global network of researchers will hopefully lead to a new generation of ocean leaders and solutions.
Through this agreement researchers at UiT The Arctic University of Norway will participate in coordinated research trips on-board “REV Ocean” and generate valuable data about ecosystems in the Arctic and other ocean areas. The agreement also includes cooperation with The Ocean Data Foundation, which among other things uses machine learning algorithms, and gives researchers new and unique opportunities to examine biological processes and find new opportunities for the use of data.
“This agreement will give exciting cooperation opportunities in ocean related projects and will strengthen the three institutions. We look forward to cooperating on-board the new research vessel that is currently under construction and expect the Ocean Data Foundation to facilitate deep dives into the open and global data registers for analysis and new knowledge”, said Anne Husebekk, rector at UiT the Arctic University of Norway.
This cooperation will be a significant contribution to REV Oceans core research areas including climate change, plastic pollution and unsustainable fishing practices. The new Master’s programme in Ocean Leadership will also involve understanding and improved decision-making based on comprehensive knowledge, integration and visualisation of data.
Kathrine Tveiterås, Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, said: We have an open data policy at here at UiT. Working with large data is becoming increasingly more central, in both science and business. It is therefore important to educate people that have the expertise to understand where the data comes from and what it means.
We look forward to cooperating on ocean research at UiT and make data better and more available, so that we can find sustainable ocean solutions for research and industry, said Bjørn Tore Markussen, CEO for Ocean Data Foundation.
More about REV Ocean here:
https://www.revocean.org/
Media contacts:
Lawrence Hislop
Communication Manager
REV Ocean
lawrence.hislop@revocean.org
+47 48500514
Karine Nigar Aarskog
Seniorrådgiver
UiT Norges arktiske universitet
karine.n.aarskog@uit.no
+47 95158407
