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Call for Specialized Expertise

The writing teams of the third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III) are seeking experts with specialized expertise. The list of expertise needed to support WOA III's development is available in this document. If you have the required expertise and are interested in joining the WOA III writing teams, reach out to the relevant Coordinating Authors for further details as soon as possible and no later than 31 May 2025.

Should the Coordinating Author of the chapter or sub-chapter you wish to join accept you as a member of the writing team, you will then need to be nominated to the Pool of Experts of the Regular Process. To join the Pool of Experts, complete this  and send your CV to the secretariat (temnova@un.org). 

Nomination of Experts for the Pool of Experts

The official call for nomination for the Pool of Experts in the third cycle of the Regular Process has been launched. The online application form can be accessed here: .

Following the identification of expertise needed for the development of the third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III), States are encouraged to appoint additional experts, including through their designated National Focal Points, to join the Pool of Experts. Intergovernmental organizations, the funds, bodies and programmes of the 51³Ô¹Ï and the secretariats of relevant conventions and intergovernmental processes will also be invited to recommend experts for nomination to the Pool of Experts.

Nominations can be submitted by:

• States of nationality of the expert or National Focal Points through email to the secretariat (to: doalos@un.org, cc: temnova@un.org) using an email subject "WOA3: Nomination and CV for the Pool of Experts" by 31 May 2025.

Recommendations for nominations can be submitted by:

• States (even if they are not the State of nationality of the expert)
• Intergovernmental organizations, the funds, bodies and programmes of the 51³Ô¹Ï and the secretariats of relevant global and regional conventions and intergovernmental processes
• Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the 51³Ô¹Ï Economic and Social Council
• Members of the Group of Experts
• Interested individuals with expertise needed for the assessments(s) of the third cycle, including scientists and holders of traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge (Self-recommended)

Nominated, recommended, or self-recommended experts must complete the online application form and send their CVs to the secretariat (to: doalos@un.org, cc: temnova@un.org) using an email subject "WOA3: CV for the Pool of Experts" by 31 May 2025. 

The profiles of recommended or self-recommended experts will be reviewed by their State of nationality or the Bureau of the Regular Process. Recommended or self-recommended experts will receive confirmation of their inclusion in the Pool of Experts from the secretariat. Only experts included in the Pool of Experts can be selected by the Group of Experts to be a writing team member or peer-reviewer of the Third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III).

Based on the , the Group of Experts undertook a review of the list of expertise for the third cycle to identify those categories that are relevant to the third World Assessment (WOA III) and to add additional expertise categories that will be needed to write the chapters of the assessment and facilitate peer review of the assessment. Hundreds of experts are required to support the preparation of the assessments conducted under the Regular Process and contribute as members of writing teams. The list of expertise needed can be found here: List of expertise.

To learn more about the writing team member or peer-reviewer role, please see the Guidelines for the Writing and Review Process of the Assessment(s) of the Third Cycle and the Guidelines for the Nomination and Application of Experts to the Pool of Experts, Writing Teams, and Peer-Reviewers.

See the updated the Mechanism for the establishment of the Pool of Experts for the third cycle of the Regular Process.

Database of the experts from the Pool of Experts of the third cycle

Hundreds of experts are required to support the preparation of the assessments conducted under the Regular Process and contribute as members of writing teams in this regard. The experts represent diverse disciplines and geographical regions. Over 780 experts from around the world contributed to the preparation of the second World Ocean Assessment. The preparation of assessment(s) of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects, during the third cycle of the Regular Process will also require a large Pool of Experts.

In its , the General Assembly requested the Bureau of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process to review and update the mechanism to establish the Pool of Experts for the third cycle of the Regular Process, and to provide oversight of the establishment of the Pool of Experts, including by inviting individuals who served in the Pool of Experts during the second cycle of the Regular Process to indicate to the secretariat of the Regular Process whether they would be interested in serving in the Pool of Experts for the third cycle and beyond.

The secretariat of the Regular Process invites members of the Pool of Experts who served during the second cycle of the Regular Process to indicate to the secretariat whether they would be interested in serving in the Pool of Experts for the third cycle and beyond. 

See .