The Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program: A multistakeholder approach to address land-based pollution causing marine hypoxia

Marine hypoxia (low or depleted oxygen in a water body) is a transboundary issue - it is not confined to a single country or a single region, but is a global concern with global impacts. Consequently, a programmatic approach that supports the identification and implementation of collaborative solutions at global, regional, and national levels is considered the most effective way to address the problem over the long-term. In recognition of this, the Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program (CHO-IP) has been established by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to address marine hypoxia through science-based action.

The CHO-IP offers an opportunity to implement the science-policy-society value chain approach, with a Global Coordination Project led by FAO, together with three multilateral development banks (ADB, CAF, EBRD) in partnership with IOC-UNESCO and GWP, as well as 14 Country Projects spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East spanning 9 Large Marine Ecosystems. 

The overall goal of the program is to curb coastal hypoxia via the reduction of coastal pollution from agriculture, industrial, and municipal sources through policy, regulatory measures, infrastructure investments and nature-based solutions. This is the first time a GEF program focuses on the relationship between hypoxia and nutrient pollution. The Global Ocean Oxygen Network, an IOC-UNESCO working group, will be key to providing the scientific data, advice and connections required to  achieve this goal and address challenges hampering action at this point, such as: 

- a lack of comprehensive data on the causes and impacts of, and solutions to, marine hypoxia;
- policies and investments that do not sufficiently address nutrient pollution; 
- limited access to innovative solutions, best management practices, and financing, restricting the adoption of cost-effective measures; 
- fragmented and unconnected global efforts to tackle marine hypoxia fail to achieve significant transformative impacts.

We will present updated best practices for ocean oxygen measurement, data quality assessment and management, tailored and available for both scientific and practical applications. These practices are crucial for developing new methods to enhance the establishment, improvement, and sustainability of systems for monitoring nutrient pollution, oxygen levels, related data collection and reporting systems. We will also demonstrate how this links to the Global Ocean Oxygen Database and Atlas, which is expected to improve the interoperability of data produced via the CHO-IP and established databases worldwide.