December 30, 2024
The ocean is our planet’s most powerful climate regulator, functioning as a vast engine for climate stabilization.
It absorbs 25% of global CO₂ emissions and 90% of excess heat, buffering the Earth from the worst impacts of climate change while shaping weather patterns and sustaining countless ecosystems. Unfortunately, ocean health and its potential to combat climate change remain underrepresented in global policies.
Policy needs to change with the times to fully leverage the ocean’s climate-regulating capabilities and meet the challenges of the 21st century.
1. The Shortcomings of Current Ocean Policy
Fragmented Governance: Ocean governance is divided among multiple international agreements, regional organizations, and national jurisdictions. This patchwork approach leads to gaps in enforcement and conflicting priorities.
- Example: The High Seas, covering nearly 50% of the Earth’s surface, lack comprehensive governance, making them vulnerable to illegal fishing and unregulated resource extraction.
Insufficient Funding: Ocean conservation efforts are chronically underfunded compared to terrestrial initiatives. Many developing nations lack the resources to enforce existing regulations or invest in marine protection.
- Statistic: Only 1% of global philanthropic funding goes toward ocean-related issues, according to a 2022 report by the OECD.
Reactive instead of Proactive: Most ocean policies are designed to address problems after they occur rather than prevent them. This approach exacerbates issues like habitat destruction and pollution.
- Example: Policies that tend to clean up plastic pollution often neglect upstream solutions like reducing plastic production and improving waste management.
Limited Stakeholder Inclusion: Many policies fail to engage local communities, Indigenous groups, and small-scale fishers, who are often the most affected by ocean degradation. This exclusion undermines the effectiveness and equity of conservation efforts.
2. Envisioning an Ideal Future for Ocean Policy
An ideal future for ocean policy is one where the ocean’s ecological, economic, and social roles are fully integrated into global governance frameworks. This vision includes:
Comprehensive Governance Frameworks: A unified, legally binding international framework for ocean governance that addresses the High Seas, coordinates regional efforts and harmonizes national policies.
- Feature: A global treaty that enforces strict regulations on fishing, mining, and pollution in international waters.
Sustainable Financing: Robust funding mechanisms to support ocean conservation, such as blue bonds, carbon credits for marine ecosystems, and international aid programs.
- Example: Expanding initiatives like the Seychelles’ Blue Bond to finance large-scale marine protection.
Proactive Policies: Policies that prioritize prevention over mitigation, focusing on restoring habitats, reducing carbon emissions, and curbing plastic production.
- Example: Mandating sustainable practices for industries that impact marine ecosystems, such as aquaculture and shipping.
Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement: Empowering coastal communities, Indigenous groups, and small-scale fishers by integrating their knowledge and needs into policy-making processes.
- Example: Community-led marine protected areas (MPAs) should be backed by their governments to balance conservation with local livelihoods to reduce the influx of paper parks.
3. How to Achieve This Future
We need coordinated supported efforts across governments, businesses, and civil society to move toward this ideal future. Here’s how we can make it happen:
Strengthen International Collaboration: Ratify and implement treaties like the High Seas Treaty to address governance gaps in international waters.
- Milestone Metric: Increase the percentage of protected High Seas from 1.2% to at least 30% by 2030 as part of the 30×30 initiative.
Scale Up Funding for Ocean Conservation: Develop innovative financing mechanisms such as blue bonds, marine carbon credits, and blended finance models.
- Milestone Metric: Double global funding for ocean conservation to at least $10 billion annually by 2030.
Promote Science-Driven Policies: Invest in marine research and monitoring programs to inform evidence-based policies.
- Milestone Metric: Establish a global ocean data platform that consolidates real-time data on marine health and human activities.
Empower Local Communities: Support community-based conservation initiatives and provide financial and technical assistance to coastal populations.
- Milestone Metric: Increase the number of community-managed MPAs by 50% by 2030 while educating them on how to manage these facilities.
Leverage Technology for Enforcement: Use AI, satellite monitoring, and blockchain to track illegal activities and ensure transparency in seafood supply chains.
- Milestone Metric: Reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by 50% by 2030.
4. The Road Ahead
The ocean’s health is inextricably linked to our planet’s future. Moving ocean policy forward is not just an environmental imperative—but a socio-economic and moral obligation.
By addressing governance gaps, increasing funding, engaging stakeholders, and leveraging technology, we can ensure a sustainable future for our oceans and the billions of people who depend on them.
As oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle aptly states: “The ocean is the cornerstone of Earth’s life support system. We ignore its health at our peril.”
Now is the time to act boldly, think collaboratively, and invest wisely in the future of ocean policy.