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Marine litter represents a critical environmental challenge that reflects systemic unsustainability. It calls for a reexamination of social structures, resource management, materials life cycles, consumption patterns, waste production, and strategies to manage debris (Scrich et al., 2024). With far-reaching socioeconomic and ecological impacts that threaten human health, coastal livelihoods, and marine biodiversity (GESAMP, 2015, 2020), nations must prioritize marine litter mitigation (Lau et al., 2020)—an imperative reinforced by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). In response, courses such as those among the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) have become vital tools for effective capacity building and knowledge sharing. They empower stakeholders to implement sustainable solutions and provide a path for overcoming global challenges and achieving long-term sustainability (IOC-UNESCO, 2020). 

The collaboration between Cabo Verdean and German institutions in marine sciences began in 2004. Since then, it has evolved from project-based ocean observation efforts to a sustained, long-term partnership with strong commitments from both countries. Today, research infrastructure such as the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory and the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo, as well as the international master’s program, Climate Change and Marine Sciences, are operated in Cabo Verde. Here, we reflect on the development of this partnership and how the strengthening of capacities has positively impacted West Africa. 

West Africa has an extensive coastline stretching 7,367 km over 12 mainland countries and two archipelagos. The region’s coastal and marine ecosystems are among the most productive and biologically diverse in the world. However, the ocean resources are under intense anthropogenic pressures encompassing pollution, habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, overfishing, and climate-change-​induced sea level rise. These challenges call for science-based and community-led actions to reverse current negative trends. Unfortunately, poor capacity to understand West Africa’s ocean is an age-old struggle by scientists in the region, and it remains among the least studied globally. 

The Ocean Foundation’s Ocean Science Equity Initiative—EquiSea—was founded in 2022 to address systemic inequities in ocean science capacity and opportunities. It provides financial support for projects, coordinates capacity development activities, fosters collaboration and co-financing of ocean science, and supports the development of low-cost ocean science technologies. The EquiSea strategic framework was co-developed with input from more than 200 ocean science practitioners in more than 35 countries. The authors of this article are those who played the most active roles in EquiSea’s development. 

As the global push for sustainable development intensifies, public and private actors in fisheries and ocean management are encouraged to support United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, “Life Below Water.” For those involved in small-scale fisheries (SSF), the emphasis must shift toward “life above water” (Jentoft, 2019), reflecting the complex social, cultural, and heritage values that define these communities. To create lasting SSF sustainability, programs must be inclusive and community-driven. This shift requires transdisciplinary capacity building and youth engagement, fostering experience sharing and collaboration for transformation. Initiatives like Too Big To Ignore and Coast 2 Coast take this approach, focusing on relationship building, shared responsibility, and inclusive engagement to shape meaningful, grounded change. 

“The science we need for the ocean we want” (IOC, 2020) may be more science than we can afford unless we devise additional cost-​effective ways to produce it. Much of the science we need may require local knowledge and skills that are difficult to generate at scale. Global problems, such as ocean acidification, may be lessened by using site-specific solutions that require knowledge of local oceanography. Similarly, implementing solutions to local problems, such as pollution and fisheries sustainability, will require local knowledge and skills that cannot immediately be drawn from global capacity. Supplying the know-how for inexpensive staff and scientific gear to achieve these solutions may be part of capacity building and sharing in the UN Ocean Decade. 

Given the challenges Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face in achieving ocean sustainability, the Barcelona Statement issued after the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference identified further investment in capacity development of SIDS and other underrepresented groups as one of the high-priority crosscutting issues (https://oceanexpert.org/​document/34098). The statement calls for transforming international organizations by expanding existing capacity development services beyond their conventional geographical areas. 

Although not a new phenomenon, interest in artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools has exploded recently. This rapid technological development expands the use of machines beyond prediction and summarization to generating content that closely resembles human work. As a result, applications of AI are expanding rapidly and becoming integrated into various sectors of society (Stevens et al., 2021). 

An emerging technology for building capacity to make decisions in the ocean space is the development of Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTOs). A DTO is a virtual replication of the ocean environment, including its properties, behaviors, and processes (https://www.​mercator-​ocean.eu/​en/​digital-​twin-ocean/). These digital replicas are created using a combination of real-time data collected from satellites and thousands of sensors deployed around the world, as well as outputs of advanced models and computer simulations.