At the parliamentary evening of the Deutsche Allianz Meeresforschung (DAM - the German Marine Research Alliance) in Hanover, the participants discussed how marine conservation and use can be reconciled. The event was held 23th of March in the Old Town Hall in Hanover.
Dr. Joachim Harms, Chairman of the DAM Executive Board, presented the activities, goals and current projects of the DAM to the approximately 100 guests. "With the networking of university and non-university research as well as stakeholders, the DAM is the platform for the further development of German marine research," he said. "The seas deserve our full attention: they provide food and resources, serve as transport routes and for recreation and - there is something many don't know: they produce oxygen, which is essential for us humans to survive." The aim of the DAM is to share knowledge from marine research with politics and the public - and at the same time to pick up impulses for new research topics.
Marcus Bosse, Vice-President of the Lower Saxony State Parliament, and Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture, confirmed in their welcome speeches the importance and high status of marine research for the state with the longest coastline in Germany. The DAM is an important partner for politics and research in Lower Saxony, as it brings together interests and structures that take care of an important and fragile ecosystem - and at the same time a milestone for the public presence of the topics "marine research" and "marine conservation".
Develop practical knowledge in a dialogue – and the courage to make recommendations
Helmut Hillebrand, Professor at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg and Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, showed why the exchange of research results with politics, society and economy is so important in his keynote “Knowledge of action for change the biodiversity in the example of a DAM-research”.
Marine biodiversity is under enormous threat, but biodiversity is fundamental to processes that make the earth habitable for humans. Knowledge generated by science on how to deal with the change in biodiversity gives us room for action. For this, however, science needs the dialogue with stakeholders in order to jointly develop conflict potential and solutions - as is implemented in the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research missions of the DAM such as sustainMare.