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This year's Conference of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) was convened entirely online from 5 to 8 July. Jointly organised together with the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of the Erasmus University Rotterdam it offered numerous parallel sessions grouped as seed panels, harvesting panels, workshops and roundtables.

From 28 June to 2 July this year, the MARE Conference offered again a platform for exchange of latest research results, joint learning and networking. The key theme invited critical reflection on the fact that 'sustainable development' as guiding concept for policy makers, has been replaced of late by the ‘blue economy’ and ‘blue growth’ mantra. We say instead, focus on people - they can correct the dangerous directions some investments are taking at the expense of the wellbeing of people and planet.

The Galapagos Islands located some 1200 km west of continental Ecuador have not only captured the imagination of Charles Darwin during the circumglobal voyage of the Beagle in September 1835, but of countless scientists and tourists ever since; without forgetting the pirates, whalers and other seafarers depositing their letters in Whaler's Barrel Postbox on Floreana since the late 18th century. Whoever passed by would pick up any letters destined to close to home and would deliver them personally in exchange for a cup of tea - a habit kept alive by modern tourists. María José Barragán, current science director of the Charles Darwin Foundation in Puerto Ayora, takes us through the research station's development phases since its creation in 1959 and the ups and downs of its scientific and social work in support of the Galapagos National Park to study and protect its unique biodiversity. Click on the picture to see the registration of her talk.

Congratulations to this year's Mundus maris Awardees selected from 61 submissions from 10 countries by the international jury. The theme chosen by the UN for this year's World Ocean Day was "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods". The theme allowed for a wide variety of vistas. We invited submissions in the form stories, poems, paintings and video divided into age groups to account for different life stages. Covid may have reduced the numbers of contributions, but certainly not the quality.

As World Ocean Day is coming closer, preparations of Mundus maris and its partners working on this year's UN theme "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods" are heating up. The international jury is finishing its assessment work of 61 submissions from 10 countries. Our team in Senegal is planning no fewer than five activities! Nigeria two, Argentina in collaboration with others two and our teams in Belgium and Ghana one each. In Cameroon our partners Bénévoles Océan are mobilising young people in Kribi, Douala on the coast and elsewhere. Partner Eco Ethics in Kenya has already scheduled mangrove planting before and a series of beach and press activities at the day itself. 

The May 28 webinar of the V2V Project featured Dr Maarten Bavinck of Amsterdam University as keynote speaker. Starting out from his basis as a development sociologist and interested in governance, he spoke about nowadays common situations of legal plurality. The term describes a context where typically traditional laws and regulations apply to the same geographical space as modern positive law.

This year's UN motto for World Ocean Day "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods" is particularly well-chosen as it reminds us that our lives and livelihoods are inextricably connected to the ocean. Human extractions and destruction of nature on land and in the seas are identified by many scientists and ordinary citizens as one of the major reasons why we are afflicted by more viral diseases. This is in addition to the fossil fuel addiction of how powerful companies have organised their businesses and framed our heating, cooling and mobility. This messes up the climate and generates more extreme events, such as hurricanes, droughts, inundations and harvesting losses.

The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is a global multi-stakeholder partnership that seeks to increase transparency and participation for more sustainability in marine fisheries. It provides governments, all kinds of participants in the fishing industry and civil society with an international framework for credible quality information about national fisheries. It promotes informed public debate about sector policies and supports the long-term contribution of the sector to national economies and the well-being of citizens and the viability of companies. A webinar on 14 April 2021 served to introduce a wider public to achievements so far and announce the forthcoming national reports of the Seychelles and Mauritania.

In the April 30, 2021 edition of the V2V Webinars Dr. Silvia Salas of CIVESTAV in Mérida, Mexico talked about the principles extracted from empirical research to facilitate the transition of small-scale fisheries from vulnerability to viability. Silvia recalled some of the basic principles we need to keep in mind for a better understanding of their current challenges and how to address them adequately. An awareness of the inherent uncertainties helps critical interrogation and risk-minimising strategies.

This year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) from 19 to 30 April 2021 takes again place in the virtual EGU Sphere. Fired up by broad debates in almost all countries about how to start on new, more sustainable footings post-covid there was a notable increase in submissions seeking a stronger explicit connection between asking questions in society and doing research and education in the geosciences.

SWAIMS, the Regional Programme "Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security", headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, focused it's webinar on 31 March 2021 on "Curbing Maritime Insecurity in the Niger Delta". One of the speakers invited in the occasion of this exchange with civil society organisations was Prof. Stella Williams, Vice President of Mundus maris, who spoke on the topic of Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and its effect on small-scale fisheries.