5th High-Level Industry-Science-Government Dialogue on Atlantic Interactions

Atlantic Interactions is an ongoing intergovernmental initiative to unleash the full potential of the Atlantic Ocean for society. It acts as framework for scientific and technology collaboration and development of innovative ideas, common policies, shared research programmes and joint projects, aligning national priorities and global challenges, such as the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Roadmap for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Since 2016, a series of workshops were held in a number of cities, mobilising governments, researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide, towards the development of a new science and technology agenda for an integrative approach to the better understanding of the Atlantic Ocean With the aim to advance with the Atlantic Interactions initiative, four High Level Industry-Science-Government Dialogues already took place. The first one in Terceira island, Azores, on April 2017, aimed to address the need to further study and conduct research in Atlantic regions. The second one in Florianopolis, Brazil, on November 2017, where the Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre) was formally created, aimed to implement the Atlantic Interactions Agenda (“Florianópolis Declaration”). The third one in Praia, Cape Verde, on April 2018, showcased the advances in the creation of the AIR Centre, including the identification of the main scientific domains of interest, as well as an initial set of programmes and projects (“Praia Declaration”). The fourth one in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, on November 2018, delivered the AIR Centre as an international distributed scientific organization and encouraged more countries to join the initiative, following the path already by other countries (“Canary Islands Declaration”). The 5th High Level Industry-Science-Government Dialogue Atlantic Interactions, held in Lagos, Nigeria, focused on the latest achievements in expanding the network, consolidating partnerships and delivering projects for the preservation of marine and coastal ecosystems and for the benefit of all people living around the Atlantic Ocean