Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences

The Planet under Pressure conference was organised by the scientific community in anticipation of the Rio +20 Summit this summer. A major theme of the conference was the instrumental role of science and the leadership of the scientific community in bringing about society’s transition towards being sustainable. My doctoral research project addresses the legal implications of potentially harmful marine research activities. Part of this research involves examining the legal guarantee of the freedom of scientific research as a condition for new knowledge production so that decision-makers have the best possible information upon which to base environmental law and policy. However, an important point that was emphasised at the Planet under Pressure conference in this regard was that ‘good disciplinary science’ alone is insufficient for solving the complex, interconnected problems related to global environmental change. Strong co-operation across scientific fields – including meaningful discourse between natural scientists and social scientists – and broad engagement with societal actors representing politics, business and civil society will be necessary for effecting on-the-ground environmental change. Clearly, a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive the conversion from the gathering of scientific knowledge on environmental problems towards appropriate action is needed if society is to shift onto a more sustainable route in the future. In light of this, I certainly will reflect more on how my research must not only be academically interesting, but also meet the needs of those actors working ‘on the ground’ trying to achieve and promote change towards more sustainable ways of living.

My research also examines geoengineering as an example of potentially risky marine scientific research activities. The conference offered two sessions on this topic and provided a good chance to link up with colleagues from around the world in the natural and social sciences working on these questions.

Finally, I would like to thank GLOMAR for very generously providing funding for my participation at Planet under Pressure.