The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development has endorsed Prof. Xiao Hua Wang's project, Building Coastal Resilience against Climate Change.

Launched in January 2021, the 'Ocean Decade' provides a convening framework for a wide range of stakeholders across the world to engage and collaborate outside their traditional communities to trigger a revolution in ocean science. The Ocean Decade seeks to stimulate action at all levels while catalyzing transformation through its Ocean Decade Actions — tangible initiatives carried out globally throughout the Decade to achieve "the science we need for the ocean we want". These include:

1. Understand and beat marine pollution
2. Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity
3. Sustainably nourish the global population
4. Develop a sustainable, resilient and equitable ocean economy
5. Unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change
6. Increase community resilience to ocean and coastal risks
7. Sustainably expand the Global Ocean Observing System
8. Create a digital representation of the ocean
9. Skills, knowledge, technology and participation for all
10. Restore humanity's relationship with the ocean

Ocean Decade-endorsed projects are considered prestigious internationally, as they represent cutting-edge contributions to global ocean science and sustainable development. Each endorsed project undergoes rigorous evaluation by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). This vetting process ensures that they meet high scientific and sustainability standards, giving them global credibility. Furthermore, Ocean Decade projects often involve partnerships between leading universities, research institutions, governments, and private organizations across multiple countries. This makes them highly regarded in international scientific and policy circles.

This 5-year Decade Action Project aims to enhance coastal and marine ecosystem resilience by integrating socioeconomic assessments, green engineering solutions, and scientific modelling. It will address vulnerabilities in coastal communities, develop natural defense mechanisms, and predict threats through advanced modelling. In this project, we will conduct inter-disciplinary and cross-sector research on community disaster relief and resilience building against coastal hazards and climate change-related issues (e.g. storm surge, sea level rise, land subsidence, coastal erosion, marine heatwaves, flooding, nuclear waste disposal, bushfire impact on water quality; indigenous knowledge in the Sea Country, remote sensing/AUV, hazard risk mapping and ML, ocean renewable energy). International collaboration of 10 diverse maritime nations from all ocean basins will strengthen capacity-building and knowledge-sharing across diverse ocean regions, contributing to sustainable development goals and global policy frameworks.