PROASA seeks to strengthen São Paulo’s role in the ocean science and sustainability agenda

Coordinators of the FAPESP Program for the South Atlantic and Antarctica begin mapping São Paulo’s ocean science at an event in Santos.

By Elton Alisson  |  Agência FAPESP – Brazil has a maritime area of about 5.7 million square kilometers (km²), covering 17 states and 443 coastal municipalities, where 18% of the Brazilian population lives. Despite this importance, investment in ocean research in the country is still very low, points out Alexander Turra, professor at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (IO-USP) and coordinator of the FAPESP Program for the South Atlantic and Antarctica (PROASA).

“Brazil is an oceanic nation. We have two-thirds of our national territory under water, and the economy associated with the maritime environment is estimated at 19% of the national GDP [Gross Domestic Product]. However, investment in oceanic research in Brazil corresponds to 0.03% of the country’s total spending on science, compared to 1.7% of the world average,” he compares.

According to the researcher, in order to increase knowledge on this topic, it would be necessary to increase the country’s investments in this area by at least 60 times.

“This represents an enormous challenge. And it’s no use just increasing, but we need to maintain the predictability of resources to do science and develop different knowledge systems, approaches and strengthen observations to fill gaps in knowledge about the ocean, especially the South Atlantic and Antarctica. These are some of PROASA’s objectives,” said the researcher during the “PROASA Dialogues” event.

The objective of the meeting, held on March 20th at the Institute of Marine Science of the Federal University of São Paulo (IMar-UNIFESP), in the port city of Santos, was to disseminate information, discuss the lines of research supported and present the program’s call for proposals to the scientific community in the field of ocean sciences to enable the implementation of projects.

Other objectives were: to begin mapping ocean science in the state of São Paulo, to assess the existing infrastructure and identify needs, and to seek to integrate the scientific community in the area in order to expand, diversify and qualify the country’s leading role in the ocean sustainability agenda, with a focus on the South Atlantic and Antarctica.

“Brazil is a geopolitical and scientific leader in these two regions and must expand this role by strengthening its protagonism. However, the country isn’t leading any of the programs of the Decade of the Ocean [proclaimed by the United Nations for the years 2021 to 2030]. And that’s a problem. We’re involved, but we’re not leading,” said Turra.

According to the researcher, the state of São Paulo has institutions and specialists in ocean sciences, but with limited global influence.

“The idea behind PROASA is to act as a facilitator in a process of establishing and strengthening partnerships and synergies to amplify and qualify the science, technology and innovation system in the state of São Paulo and the country, with a view to increasing its leadership and competitiveness in the national and international ocean and Antarctic agenda and in the transition to sustainability,” said Turra.

One of the values and principles of the program is to promote inter- and transdisciplinary, integrative and inclusive approaches in the supported projects, bringing the natural and human sciences closer together and valuing different knowledge systems, such as scientific and traditional, local and indigenous.

“Another premise of PROASA is to promote processes of co-design and co-production of knowledge, improving the integration of producers and users of information, strengthening institutional partnerships and dialogues among social actors,” said Turra.

Local actors

Interlocution with local actors has been one of the main priorities in the projects developed in recent years by researchers associated with UNIFESP’s Institute of Marine Science, said Igor Dias Medeiros, director of the institution, in a speech given at the opening of the event.

“From the very beginning of the creation of the Institute of Marine Sciences, we’ve sought dialogue with local actors here in the Baixada Santista [a metropolitan region in the state of São Paulo centered on Santos and encompassing 9 municipalities] in order to understand the territory, the conflicts and the opportunities,” he said.

In addition, the institution’s researchers have established partnerships with other universities and public authorities in the region, signing agreements and carrying out development projects with the environmental departments of the municipalities of Santos, São Vicente, Guarujá and, more recently, Cubatão.

“We’ve contributed to the preparation of diagnoses with these institutions, which have helped to promote public policies in the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also approached us with some frequency, which shows our capacity and potential to contribute to the development of this coastal region of the state of São Paulo,” he said.

The institution’s researchers also sit on the region’s environmental councils, and issues discussed there are brought to the collegiate body, said Medeiros.

“Each of the professors arrived at the institution with a line of research that, based on relationships with local actors and the formation of groups, was adapted to the needs of the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region. And today we have a good local presence and, of course, maintain national and international collaborations,” he pointed out.

According to Turra, this agreement between different actors in the process of knowledge production is fundamental to promote changes in coastal municipalities and to find solutions to problems such as marine pollution, which affects not only the Baixada Santista but also several other coastal cities in the country and around the world.

“When a process of co-production and co-design is established, involving science, society, decision-makers and the private sector in a high perspective of institutional relations, with trust, clear communication and open dialogue, it’s possible to build strategies to promote transformations,” he concluded.