03.10.2024

Interdisciplinary research is necessary!

ZFO thesis paper 1/24 published

Nature and society in marine research -
Perspectives on interdisciplinary cooperation in the Anthropocene

This first thesis paper of the Future Ocean Forum addresses the need for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration in marine research, particularly in the context of man-made environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss. The central thesis of the document is that previous efforts in marine research have not always led to effective societal action, as the interactions between natural and societal processes are still insufficiently understood.

Five areas of development are presented:

  1. Connecting scientific culturesCooperation between the natural and technical sciences on the one hand and the social and cultural sciences on the other must be intensified in order to achieve a better understanding of the complex challenges.
  2. Reforms in trainingInterdisciplinary skills should be taught early on in scientific training in order to facilitate better collaboration later on.
  3. Structural reforms of research organisationsMarine research institutions should create interdisciplinary structures to promote exchange between different disciplines.
  4. Adjustment of project fundingResearch projects should prioritise interdisciplinary approaches, whereby a discovery phase for joint problem definition should be promoted.
  5. Opening up to societyTransdisciplinary collaboration with non-academic stakeholders, such as NGOs or local communities, is essential to develop social acceptance and solutions.

The paper emphasises that interdisciplinary research is not only complementary, but a necessity for the effective solution of global marine problems.

Background

This thesis paper was developed as part of a "Scoping Workshop" sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation with the title:

"From marine research to social action: perspectives of interdisciplinary cooperation for the UN Ocean Decade"

The workshop took place from 7-9 June 2023 at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover. The workshop was coordinated by Dr Tanja Bogusz, scientist at the Centre for Sustainable Society Research (CSS) at the University of Hamburg. The application consortium also included Prof Dr Helmut Hillebrand (Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity - HIMBF and University of Oldenburg), Dr Moritz Holtappels (Alfred Wegener Institute for Marine and Polar Research (AWI) Bremerhaven), Dr Gesche Krause, (AWI Bremerhaven) as well as Prof Dr Achim Schlüter (Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) Bremen) and Prof Dr Thorsten Schlurmann (German Marine Research Consortium and University of Hanover).

The results of the workshop have been incorporated into the Inter- and transdisciplinary marine research (InTraOcean) of the Future Ocean Forum and under whose coordination the thesis paper attached here is now being published. Dr Tanja Bogusz and Dr Moritz Holtappels are in charge of the working group.

The document can be downloaded below.