London, 5 December – The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, a pioneering initiative dedicated to inspiring the complete mapping of the world’s ocean, has been selected as one of ten global projects for the Paris Peace Forum’s esteemed Scale-up Program (SCUP) in 2024-2025.
Announced during the Forum’s seventh edition, this recognition highlights Seabed 2030’s vital role in advancing our understanding of the ocean – a foundation for addressing global challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change, which will be a priority theme for next year’s Forum.
Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which seeks to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all the data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. The Project is formally endorsed as a Decade Action of the UN Ocean Decade. GEBCO is a joint programme of the IHO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.
Launched in 2018, SCUP is designed to elevate initiatives showcased at the Paris Peace Forum, offering selected projects year-long support from the Paris Peace Forum Secretariat. Through this programme, Seabed 2030 will receive a year of support from senior figures in industry and international agencies to scale its impact, strengthen partnerships and advance its mission to deepen knowledge of the marine environment – further bolstering efforts to deliver a complete map of the seafloor by the end of the decade.
“We are thrilled that Seabed 2030 has been selected for the Paris Peace Forum’s Scale-up Program,” said Steve Hall, Head of Partnerships for Seabed 2030, who represented the initiative at this year’s Forum. “This support aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate global ocean mapping, which is essential not only for protecting biodiversity and addressing climate change but also for unlocking numerous other benefits. We look forward to working closely with the Paris Peace Forum community to further amplify our reach and impact.”
At the eighth edition of the Forum in 2025, Seabed 2030 will join fellow cohort members in showcasing its progress, highlighting the results of SCUP’s support.
All data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030 project will be included in the free and publicly available GEBCO global grid.
ENDS
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