Policy Update
Anamika P K
Abstract
The 8th Meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Ocean and Polar Science and Technology (OPST) was held in Goa from 12–14 August 2026 under India’s BRICS Presidency, hosted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).The meeting focused on coastal resilience, joint polar and ocean research, the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), Antarctic expeditions and capacity building for young researchers.
The discussions also highlighted the commitments for International Polar Year-5. Representatives from eight participating countries, namely Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and the UAE, attended the meeting. The meeting reinforced the growing importance of scientific cooperation within the Global South in the fields of ocean and polar sciences. It broadened BRICS ocean cooperation beyond diplomatic commitments by advancing wider objectives of collaborative research, infrastructure development, and scientific mobility.
The meeting is particularly important for India, as it complements its wider polar and blue-economy ambitions. However the collaboration between the states of differential capabilities, and strategic interests also create challenges that can constrain implementation. The article analyses the 8th Working Group Meeting on OPST under India’s BRICS chairship, the possibilities and challenges and policy recommendations to move ahead. The article advances that India can leverage its 2026 chairship to establish structured practical capacity oriented cooperation by translating the OPST roadmap into demonstrable collaborative projects, and thereby reinforcing BRICS role in global ocean and polar governance
Keywords: BRICS, Ocean Governance, Polar Science, Blue Economy, Global South, India, Scientific Cooperation
1.0 Introduction
The ocean and polar regions are increasingly evolving into critical dimensions of contemporary discussions on energy security, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Their significance extends beyond mere environmental concerns. While the ocean observation systems are essential in coastal planning, weather and climate prediction, and disaster-risk preparedness; the polar research is crucial for knowledge generation regarding the global climate dynamics and the accelerating changes across the cryosphere.
Advanced oceanographic research requires capital-intensive research vessels, specialized and sophisticated datasets, scientific laboratories, monitoring systems and field expedition infrastructures; thereby making the cooperation in oceanographic and polar domain particularly important for the emerging economies. The effective cooperation can therefore strengthen the research capabilities, increase access to both resources and capacity.
The BRICS Working Group on Ocean and Polar Science and Technology provides an institutional platform for such cooperation, reflecting the non-conformity of ocean and polar cooperation to mere environmental science. The Working Group established in 2018, fundamentally aims to promote knowledge exchange, scientific cooperation, collaborative research and capacity building among the BRICS countries. India has previously hosted the meeting in 2020 as well during its BRICS Presidency.
The meeting resonates with India’s wider STI theme which focuses on cooperation, resilience, sustainability and innovation. The Chennai Consensus, adopted at the 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting also endorsed the OPST outcomes, including Antarctic participation, coastal resilience and capacity building among others. The meeting thus represents an important opportunity to advance a Global South scientific agenda in ocean and polar cooperation; and explore India’s role in fostering collaborative action.
2.0 Context / Background
The 8th BRICS Working Group Meeting on Ocean and Polar Science and Technology, under India’s BRICS Presidency was convened in Goa from 12-14 August, 2026. The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) serving as host. The delegations from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates attended the meeting. The OPST Working Group operates under the broader BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation cooperation framework, with activities in India coordinated by MoES in association with the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The 8th OPST Working Group Meeting builds on earlier BRICS commitments to ocean and polar cooperation within the established Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) framework. The Goa Meeting emphasised the need to strengthen scientific cooperation and capacity building, enhancing Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) through the collaborative contribution for the development of resilient ocean information infrastructure and services, with ocean information and observation identified as the strategic infrastructures for governance.
The key outcomes of the meeting indicate a shift from broad scientific engagement to more focused and actionable collaborative initiatives. These outcomes can be classified and understood across 4 interconnected clusters:
- Protection and resilience of Coastal Zones and Cities
- With the growing risks posed by climate change, coastal resilience has become a significant aspect of ocean governance. This emerged as a potential area of cooperation with the participating countries coming together agreeing to develop collaborative ventures to strengthen the resilience of coastal cities and zones. This emerges from the recognition that environmental and coastal hazards transcend national boundaries; and can be a basis for the knowledge and research exchange to strengthen coastal resilience.
- Strengthening Ocean Observation and Information
- The meeting restated the significance of ocean information and observation systems, by identifying collaborative initiatives to strengthen GOOS and develop resilient ocean information services as a key priority. The cooperative effort towards data generation and observation emphasizes the significance of observation infrastructure in scientific research and the wider ocean governance, evidence backed research and decision-making.
- Joint Polar Research, Diversity and Inclusive Antarctic Research
- The meeting agreed upon effective cooperation in joint research initiatives on polar ocean biodiversity, calling for more inclusive Antarctic expeditions and cooperation around International Polar Year-5 (IPY-5).
- Research and Scientific Capacity Building
- The sustained cooperation necessitates the capacity building, alongside the existing research projects. The meeting reinforced the significance of longevity of the cooperation, by agreeing upon the collaborative capacity-building initiatives for young researchers and thereby creating a network of researchers across the member countries to maintain collaboration across successive research cycles.
The previous WG Meetings have discussed coastal processes, deep-sea research,marine pollutants, climate variability and predictability as research priorities, while data management, development of technologies and observing systems were recognised as cross-cutting priorities. The 8th Working Group meeting advances these discussions further with a stronger push towards scientific research and capacity building, with a people- centered humanity first approach.
3.0 Analysis
3.1 Geopolitical and Strategic Shifts
The growing importance of ocean and polar cooperation within BRICS signals a more active role for emerging powers in the governance and use of strategically and scientifically important global spaces. The BRICS OPST Working Group represents the Institutionalization of these broader geopolitical developments. This also aligns with the evolving nature of ocean governance, which is no longer confined to the traditional concepts of maritime security or resource extraction, rather scientific knowledge and research, technological capabilities, climate research and observation infrastructures increasingly takes the centre focus in ocean-related governance.
The maritime dimensions in the BRICS cooperation is not a recent development. The earlier scholarship has identified the emerging role of the BRIC countries as “Blue BRIC”, in consideration to their expanding maritime domain and economic rise. They have acknowledged Russia, China, India and Brazil as emerging maritime powers, with significant potential to shape the evolving architecture of ocean governance. However the focus of the BRICS Ocean and Polar Cooperation has evolved over the last decade. The earlier collaborative initiatives were highly focused on the economic and security interests, but the contemporary ocean and polar cooperation has moved to a knowledge intensive framework, with scientific research,knowledge sharing, capacity building, environmental and coastal resilience, becoming the focus of the cooperation.
The significance of BRICS OPST Working Group in the backdrop of these developments lies in its complementary value. Reinforcing existing Arctic cooperation mechanisms, BRICS creates additional science and technology cooperation in ocean and polar domain among countries with different geographical positions and capabilities. These differences among the BRICS countries create avenues for complementary rather than identical/contrasting contributions.
The members have differential capabilities, and enter polar cooperation from different/non-identical strategic positions. Russia, while being the most prominent Arctic actor within BRICS with direct stakes in the polar region, has extensive economic, infrastructural environmental and strategic interests in the region, along with its decades of research experience and advanced infrastructure.
China, who positions itself as a “near Arctic state” has built a substantial polar research base, paired with Polar Silk Road, Arctic shipping and scientific collaborations. Similarly India is a recent actor in polar and ocean research, with initiatives like National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, which links the polar processes to the monsoons and South Asian climate. Brazil has longstanding strategic interests in the polar region, while South Africa’s polar interests are equally high but largely concentrated in Antarctica.
These differential capabilities and strategic interests among the members gives immense scope for collaborative initiatives within BRICS. Further, the participation of the countries- Indonesia, UAE and Egypt in the Working Group extends the blocs reach into the tropical- polar climate links and broader ocean science. This also creates connections across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Ocean research environments. Additionally, the geographical diversity among the BRICS countries makes it a significant platform for collaborative research on transboundary climate dynamics.
The polar dimension is particularly relevant as the polar processes have far-reaching consequences beyond the polar territories itself, with significant impact on the climate and ecological variations across the globe. The proposed International Polar Year-5, is aimed to facilitate coordinated international research and observation by integrating multiple disciplines and knowledge systems. Such initiatives within BRICS prominently enhance the visibility and scientific agency of Global South institutions within international research agendas. The agenda for an inclusive Antarctic participation is therefore strategically significant as it enables the emerging countries from Global South, with varying capabilities to engage in effective collaborative research, preventing the polar research to be confined to a few established scientific powers.
Equally important, the BRICS ocean cooperation need not have to be a geopolitical alternative to existing international scientific institutions. Instead, its potential lies in issue-specific targeted collaboration, among the members with diverse strategies towards shared scientific objectives across the areas such as climate and coastal resilience, ocean biodiversity, and ocean observation.
The strategic significance of BRICS OPST is therefore not creating a parallel ocean and polar governance framework, but in collaboratively enhancing the collective scientific capacity of the emerging economies to engage more effectively with the existing global governance institutions. The significance of BRICS is equally reinforced by the blocs’ demographic and economic weight, expanding their collective impact across the Global South.
3.2 Economic Implications and Opportunities
The economic importance of ocean and polar sciences is equally substantial. The scientific knowledge that underpins the sectors such as resource management, maritime transport, fisheries, marine biotechnology and offshore energy has substantial economic impacts. The economic potential of the bloc lies in the effective utilisation of the shared capabilities rather than mere joint resource extraction.
The shared ocean observation is critical in improving the information available to coastal economies. With the recent Working Group identifying strengthening GOOS as a priority, enhancing GOOS through coordinated observations can improve ocean information services, with applications ranging from fisheries and shipping to coastal infrastructure, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
The emphasis on collaborative research can significantly reduce the individual capital investments for extensive oceanographic infrastructure. BRICS countries possess complementary scientific assets including specialized expertise, observation networks, research vessels and others. The resource sharing can thereby prevent duplication, improve access to research infrastructure and significantly reduce the capital investments required individually, along with enhancing the value generated from existing public investments.
The collaborative research opens up opportunities for innovation in marine technologies and scientific methods. The cooperation can also strengthen human-capital development and sustain scientific networks over the longer term, which can directly contribute to the national economies.
Regardless, the economic value of the ocean and polar cooperation within BRICS extends much beyond commercialization. A sustainable cooperation requires balancing of the economic gains with ecological conservation and environmental sustainability.
3.3 Challenges and Structural Impediments
Despite the vast potential, OPST cooperation within BRICS also faces several challenges.
Firstly, the different geographical, scientific and strategic positioning of the member countries can create asymmetry in the engagement. Since all of the participating countries possess differential research capabilities, with some having advanced datasets and infrastructure developed over years while others with limited capital and infrastructure, this can threaten the equal distribution of the benefits of collaboration. The cooperation therefore needs mechanisms that prevent collaborative gains from being concentrated among the most scientifically advanced members and ensure its shared equitably among the members.
Second, the institutionally fragmented nature of ocean and polar governance, with different regimes governing fisheries, shipping, etc can create impediments in the integration of expanded scientific cooperation.
Thirdly, as data-sharing is considered a key priority in the cooperation, that has strategic and institutional difficulties. The oceanographic data is simultaneously crucial for scientific, commercial, environmental and security purposes. The sharing of such sensitive datasets, geospatial information and real-time observations therefore are strictly bound to the national security concerns; and thereby constrains the information-sharing arrangements..
Fourth, ensuring long-term financial viability remains a major constraint on ocean and polar research cooperation within BRICS. The oceanic and polar infrastructure are capital-intensive, and thereby demand stable funding commitments over extended periods. Without such sustained and consistent investment and funding, the collaborative initiatives will struggle to translate the commitments into long-lasting institutional networks and research partnerships.
Fifth, the nature of BRICS presidency also creates difficulty in institutional continuity of the cooperation. It’s crucial to ensure that the agreed upon priorities don’t lose momentum in the successive presidencies.
Lastly, scientific cooperation doesn’t automatically overcome the geopolitical and strategic differences among the BRICS members. With each member having intersecting yet divergent national interests in the polar regions both Arctic and Antarctic, and maritime governance, it can possibly affect the scale and scope of the collaboration.
The key challenge in the OPST cooperation within BRICS thereby lies in its institutionalization- translating the agreed upon commitments into sustained institutional mechanisms,with measurable outcomes.
3.4 India’s Role and Strategic Imperatives
India with its steadily expanding footprint in the polar region, is a significant actor in the OPST Working Group members. The large Indian Ocean coastline, deep-sea research ambitions, oceanographic institutions and a long-standing polar research programme reinstates India’s strategic interests in the region. The host institution for 8th OPST Working Group Meeting, NCPOR is the managing Institute of India’s Arctic and Antarctic scientific activities, and supports India’s polar research infrastructure, including the Antarctic stations Maitri and Bharati and the Arctic station Himadri. India’s Deep Ocean Mission is another institutional platform of comparable importance. The Mission focuses on the core objectives of marine biodiversity, development of advanced ocean technologies, deep-sea exploration and climate-related services.
India has been an increasingly visible Arctic actor, with the engagement formalized through the 2022 Arctic policy. India’s strategic ambitions in the oceanic and polar domain can be recognized in two levels:
1. Scientific – Understanding the links between Arctic ice melts, Asian monsoons and climate changes and food and water security.
2.Economic – Resource diversification and energy security
With such strategic ambitions in the polar sciences, the 2026 BRICS chairship and the convening of 8th OPST WG Meeting is of much importance for India. Nevertheless India’s significance within BRICS OPST comes not simply from being the host country, but also from its ability to function as a coordinator, knowledge broker and capacity-building partner within BRICS ocean science and integrate its established polar and ocean research strengths into a broader multilateral scientific framework.
The 2026 Meeting provided a platform to integrate India’s domestic capabilities into BRICS cooperation. Even though India holds high ambitions in this domain, India’s operational capacities are still developing. This makes the cooperation further crucial particularly around the priorities such as ocean observation, capacity building and inclusive Antarctic expeditions.
The key priorities of the cooperation aligns well with India’s wider BRICS STI agenda, and the later Chennai Consensus subsequently recognised ocean and polar science as a strategic area of BRICS cooperation. The Consensus calls for strengthening the collaboration across research networks, collaborative projects, shared infrastructure and researcher mobility.
Strategic payoff from OPST cooperation extends beyond scientific collaboration. India’s strategic rationale for OPST cooperation lies in converting its established ocean and polar capabilities into tangible BRICS outcomes. India can leverage its established ocean and polar-ocean capabilities and translate them into identifiable BRICS outcomes by contributing them to the collaborative BRICS programmes such as researcher exchanges, joint projects, and capacity building initiatives. Complimenting the wider collective BRICS outcomes with the existing capabilities, will widen the scope of OPST beyond national achievements to a broader collective capacity development across Global South. This will further enhance the practical value of OPST cooperation and simultaneously India’s role in advancing multilateral scientific cooperation.
Policy Recommendations
While the discussions and key priorities identified at the 8th OPST Working Group opens up wide possibilities for cooperation and enhancement of OPST among the BRICS members, its effectiveness will be determined by its institutional capability to turn the proposed priorities into commendable outcomes such as institutional mechanisms, funded projects and other measurable outputs.
- The OPST roadmap should be converted into a time-bound action plan with clear deliverables, deadlines, responsible institutions, funding arrangements and review mechanisms. The Working Group roadmap should be finalized with clearly defined commitments for both short and long-term. The roadmap should accurately establish the deliverables and deadlines, identify the responsible institutions, review mechanisms and funding arrangements. Each key priority agreed upon should have separate identifiable projects and monitoring benchmarks. This is essential in ensuring the institutional continuity of the proposed joint projects and avoiding the priorities remaining as other broad declarations.
- With ocean observation and data/information sharing a key priority in the meeting, its essential to establish a structured and transparent joint ocean and polar data -sharing network, linking them with the existing data and observation systems. The data sharing should have mutually agreed standards for the non-sensitive data access, scientific use and interoperability. This will directly support the objectives to strengthen GOOS systems while respecting the national data security and sovereignty concerns.
- BRICS should develop a BRICS Ocean and Polar Knowledge and Research Platform, that will connect the young researchers network, research infrastructure catalogs, research datasets and outputs.
- India can further leverage platforms like the one above to institutionalise the emphasis on young researchers and capacity building. Establishment of a dedicated BRICS Young Ocean Scientists Mobility and Training Scheme with precisely outlined fellowships,joint technical workshops, short-term research placements, expedition participation and joint supervision programmes. These initiatives should particularly consider the researchers and young scientists from the participating countries with comparatively limited resources and capabilities.
- A joint BRICS framework for polar and marine biodiversity research and conservation programme can be established to strengthen collaboration in ecological monitoring, biological sampling, biodiversity assessment and climate assessment. This should however allow the participating members to make contributions commensurate with their scientific capabilities.
- The broader BRICS infrastructure and cooperation shouldn’t be considered in isolation to the established national capabilities, but rather BRICS should develop a mechanism for coordinated access to each other’s existing observation systems, research vessels,marine research facilities and polar stations. India’s Himadri station, NCPOR and Deep Ocean Mission among others can be part of the infrastructure that can form this mechanism. This can be an effective institutional model for BRICS emphasis on research, capacity and infrastructure sharing.
The institutionalization of the scientific infrastructure through developing permanent institutional mechanisms specific for each mapped priorities, rather than merely relying on the periodic meetings is essential for ensuring the institutional continuity and sustainability of the proposed objectives. Additionally, the OPST cooperation shouldn’t be confined to a specific ministerial or institutional entity, through mere periodic intergovernmental meetings; instead it should connect various government ministries, universities, research Institutes in constant dialogue and collaboration. Scientific cooperation should also ensure and support sustainable environmental assessment.
Conclusion
The 8th BRICS Working Group Meeting on Ocean and Polar Science and Technology (OPST) is an important component of the wider BRICS STI agenda. The significance of OPST cooperation within BRICS extends beyond the number of participating countries, as it contributes to strengthening the collective scientific and technological capacities of Global South countries and reducing their dependence on technologically advanced states in ocean and polar research. The proposed OPST cooperation brings in polar research, ocean observation, collaborative resilience,biodiversity and scientific capacity building within a common institutional framework.
Both as the host country and the participating member, the OPST cooperation holds much importance for India as the meeting creates opportunities to connect and develop its domestic capabilities with wider Global South partnerships. However, implementation of the proposed initiatives faces multiple challenges; and the overcoming of these challenges to ensure success of this agenda is highly dependent on the successful institutionalization of the priorities. As proposed above, a time-specified road map, with shared infrastructure, research and capacity building programmes, interoperable data systems and sustained financing can ensure BRICS OPST doesn’t remain as mere declarations, and can be translated into a durable mechanism for efficient scientific cooperation.
References
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About the Author
Anamika P K is a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI. She is a postgraduate in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and a graduate of Ramjas College, University of Delhi. Her research interests include feminist politics, gender, International Relations, Women, Peace and Security, political economy, sustainability, and governance. She is particularly interested in evidence-based, interdisciplinary research and policy analysis that connects questions of power, inequality, and lived experiences with more inclusive, gender-responsive, and socially just policy and governance.
Acknowledgment
The author sincerely expresses gratitude to the reviewers, Ninchen and Tanisha, IMPRI India and the editorial team for their valuable comments, constructive suggestions, and continuous guidance throughout the preparation of this article.
Disclaimer
All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the
organisation.
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