The French schooner, Tara, set sail from Lorient harbor on 5 September 2009 for a three-year scientific voyage to map the effects of climate change on marine organisms. The 150,000 kilometer (81, 000 nautical mile) journey follows and expands upon the trail of naturalist Charles Darwin’s 1831-1836 trip on the Beagle.

Tara’s trip will produce a study of the clouds of tiny ocean flora and fauna that produce 50 % of the world’s oxygen supply. Marine microorganisms account for 90 percent of the oceans’ biomass and absorb the majority of atmospheric carbon dioxide. “Without these microorganisms man would never have come into being. If they disappear, so do we,” asserted Eric Karsenti, the Tara’s 60-year-old scientific leader, as the crew prepared for their departure.

The journey will take the French boat into all the world oceans and from the ice caps to the tropics. The main aim is to obtain measurements of the impact of warming that these microorganisms are undergoing and to incorporate them into future climate simulation models.

The double-masted yacht, Tara, took a previous climate change related voyage. She charted shrinking ice sheet in the Arctic Ocean between Siberia and Greenland for 18 months between 2006 and 2008. The current mission, dubbed Tara-Oceans, will be divided between the 36-meter yacht and various on-land laboratories. About 100 scientists world-wide will be involved in the process of analyzing and interpreting the gathered samples and data.

The head of Tara Expeditions, Etienne Bourgois, said that “this mission will plunge us into the invisible world of marine ecosystems, one of the least explored realms of oceanography.” Such an expedition has not been undertaken on a global scale in the past. The team will be tracking microorganisms, such as diatoms, as well as more complex organisms, like marine viruses, jelly fish, larvae, fish, and coral, which make up the base of the marine food chain. As ocean species die out it has a potentially huge effect on the entire food chain, which varies significantly from area to area.

To date there is not a good understanding of the effects of climate change on marine organisms. For example, some species of plankton may bloom in warmer waters and others might die out completely.

The Tara-Oceans voyage is largely financed through the fashion house Agnes B. Additionally, Tara Expeditions has signed partnership agreements with Agence France-Presse (AFP) among others.

The mission is being lauded as one that will truly allow people in the mainstream to understand what issues ail the world’s oceans, especially as connected to climate change. The concept behind the voyage is to inform better science, but to also actively involve large companies in France and by extension the public more generally. AFP chairman, Pierre Louette, describes AFP’s heavy investment in the project: “in contributing to science and consciousness by distributing this news across the whole world, AFP is faithful to its own mission.”

When asked to think about the relationship between climate change and Indonesia, the most likely answers would revolve around rainforests, deforestation, orangutans and loss of livelihoods. Missing from this picture is any appreciation of the role played by the oceans of Indonesia. This is especially surprising given that Indonesia’s:

• the world’s largest archipelago;
• 17,000 islands stretch over 5000 thousand kilometres East to West, or an eighth of the world’s circumference;
• total sea area is four times bigger than the land area.

This makes Indonesia particularly vulnerable: as Rachmat Witoelar, the environment minister pointed out, the country could lose 2000 islands by 2030 if sea levels continue to rise. But it is not just Indonesia that stands to lose out. Globally the effect of climate change on coastal communities and island states is potentially horrendous. This therefore makes the neglect of oceans in recent climate change conferences all the more puzzling. As noted by Gellywynn Jusuf, in Bali only one session out of 800 discussed climate change and its impact on oceans: in Poznan, oceans were barely mentioned.

This, together with new research suggesting that sea-level rises have been under-estimated, makes the recent announcement of the World Ocean Conference in May all the more important. Taking place in Sulawesi, Indonesia, it is hoped that the WOC will refocus the world’s attention on the important relationship between the oceans and climate change. It aims to increase awareness of:

1. the links between climate change, the implications for the socio-economic position of coastal peoples and the ecological conditions of coastal and marine zones;
2. the vital role that oceans play in mitigating climate change;
3. the need for mitigation of disasters caused by climate change;
4. the need for a strong commitment for continued discussions on the role of oceans in climate change and the effects of climate change on oceans.

There is a further possible reason for the conference: besides increasing awareness of the relationship between climate change and the oceans, and shifting some of the focus away from forests, it is possible that this conference may lay the groundwork for some sort of remuneration scheme for those countries with large oceans.

Given the potential carbon sink capacity of oceans, with Indonesia alone purportedly having the ability to ‘absorb’ up to 60 million tonnes of CO2 a year through the oceans, a REDD-like scheme for oceans could bring huge monetary sums for those countries directly affected by rising sea-levels. As Freddy Numberi, the Indonesian Maritime and Fisheries Minister, suggests “by protecting the oceans, we will be saving the livelihoods of so many people in small-island states. For this reason, wealthy nations should contribute to the cause.”

Is such a scheme feasible? REDD at its core is simple: pay money to stop cutting down trees. Trying to quantify not only degradation in the oceans but also their ability to act as carbon sinks maybe impossible but such a scheme [I am suggesting Reducing Emissions from Oceanic Degradation in Developing Countries or REOD as the name for such a programme]could provide at the very least compensation for those island countries hardest hit by climate change. This makes it a possibility worth exploring.