Brazil to launch Atlantic Ocean monitoring system
Brazil will launch an innovative system for monitoring the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in a joint action with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, the Secretary of Research and Scientific Training of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations (MCTI) Marcelo Morales informed today (Jul. 14).
The action is one of the initiatives of the All-Atlantic Declaration agreement, signed on Wednesday (Jul. 13), in Washington (USA). Through the document, the United States, Canada, the European Union, South Africa, and Brazil are committed to the protection and sustainable economic exploitation of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
“[The declaration] brings everyone together to work for research and innovation in a sustainable way, with a sustainable exploration of the Atlantic Ocean, so that it is more resilient. And also to work for the mitigation of pollution. For that, we have to work with the best science available,” Morales said in an interview with the state radio program A Voz do Brasil, broadcast by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação - EBC.
The agreement also aims to reduce the amount of plastic and waste in international waters, as well as to regulate ocean mining, and set targets and goals so that economic activities in the Atlantic are carried out in a sustainable manner.
“Algae, microorganisms, and elements of maritime biodiversity can represent important assets for new molecules for the treatment of diseases that are still incurable. Just as we talk about the Amazon, where we have immense biodiversity, we also have gigantic biodiversity in the oceans,” Morales explained.
