Photo by Maite De María

Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR) is a global research project that focuses on the sustainability of the oceans in the context of global change, seeking to understand past, present, and future changes in the oceans. With the vision that the oceans are sustainable for the benefit of societies, IMBeR promotes integrated marine research (integrating multiple approaches and disciplines of the natural and social sciences), which is relevant for decision-makers, communities, and other actors.

IMBeR supports collaborative, disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research that addresses key issues in ocean science generated by or with impacts on societies. It also organizes various academic and dissemination or training activities, such as the “Future Oceans” Public Scientific Conferences. IMBeR is sponsored by Future Earth and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR – Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research).

SARAS associate researcher, Micaela Trimble, was selected to join the IMBeR Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) in 2021, for her experience in inter and transdisciplinary research in coastal and oceanic systems, mainly focused on artisanal fisheries, marine protected areas, and coastal communities. This scientific committee, composed of 18 researchers from different continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America), is responsible for the elaboration and implementation of the IMBeR Scientific Plan (the Plan for 2016-2025 is available in English here).

The IMBeR Scientific Plan has organized around three major challenges: (1) understanding and quantifying the state and variability of marine ecosystems; (2) improve scenarios, predictions, and projections of future ocean systems at multiple scales; (3) improve the connections between science, politics, and society to mitigate and adapt to global change, in a transition towards sustainable ocean governance. Micaela Trimble is linked to this third challenge, as well as a new IMBeR initiative that seeks to improve the use of social science data for ocean management and policymaking.

By joining IMBeR, SARAS expands its international network to contribute to global sustainability from the science-policy-society interface and takes up a theme that was present since its inception: coastal, oceanic, and fishing systems.

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