In collaboration with the National Science Foundation and 16 international partners and through the Belmont Forum, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the award of funding for two 3-year projects to study multiple uses of the oceans, with a focus on identifying pathways toward responsible development and minimizing conflicts.
The projects – “An Assessment Framework for Successful Development of Viable Ocean Multi-use Systems” and “Ocean Sustainability Pathways for Achieving Conflict Transformation” – officially launched in June and include case studies both in and beyond U.S. waters. BOEM notes that they will generate information that will help assist the agency’s environmental assessments for offshore energy development.
The awards stem from the Belmont Forum’s call for proposals for studies to address ocean sustainability. In addition to the two BOEM-funded projects, 11 other projects were funded that include researchers from France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, India, Brazil, and Mozambique.
