- A new start for marine management
- > Who is permitted to use the ocean, and how? This is determined by a diverse array of players and just as many rules, laws and agreements. So far, however, states have failed to curb the overexploitation of the marine environment and halt species decline. New governance principles and the UN High Seas Treaty help preserve and protect the remaining life in the ocean and its diversity. To succeed, however, the countless commitments must be followed by action.
Time for a genuine rethink
Cooperation across all levels
The ocean has no national or institutional boundaries. This presents the international community with at least two major challenges in marine management and biodiversity conservation. Firstly, stakeholders across all governance levels need to collaborate on every issue of relevance to the ocean and they have to coordinate their plans for its sustainable use. Secondly, it is essential to develop solutions that strengthen biocoenoses locally or regionally without causing harm elsewhere in the ocean. Ideally, local measures such as sustainable fisheries or restoration of degraded seagrass beds and salt marshes have the ultimate outcome of promoting the health of all or much of the ocean.
Humankind, however, is still a long way from realizing this ideal of integrated ocean governance that is aligned with marine ecosystems’ needs. At present, ocean issues at all levels are dealt with by multiple stakeholders and numerous institutions which, in turn, are governed by a diverse array of agreements and legislation, depending on the topic in question. This fragmented system of ocean governance necessarily gives rise to conflicts of interests and substantial inefficiency. It limits our scope and capacity to mitigate the mutually reinforcing effects of four environmental crises: marine overexploitation, climate change, species extinction and ocean pollution.
New and, above all, holistic thinking about our approach to marine conservation and management is therefore required. It will be essential to focus strategically on the preservation, protection and recovery of ocean life and deprioritize short-term economic interests that harm the ocean’s biocoenoses.
Currently, there are high hopes of the new UN High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), which enters into force in January 2026. The Treaty regulates the criteria for designating marine protected areas in the high seas. It further obliges regional fisheries management organizations to cooperate more intensively with other ocean governance stakeholders. It also states that every project in international waters must undergo a prior environmental impact assessment. The Treaty establishes legal provisions on transnational knowledge and technology transfer and enshrines fair benefit-sharing and participation for all as a guiding principle. The latter includes the notion that all states should share in the monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of marine genetic resources.
To halt the ongoing decline of marine biodiversity, a radical transformation of ocean governance will be required. Which specific steps can initiate this process? It’s difficult to say.
However, there is widespread agreement among experts about the general framework needed – a framework conducive to forms of national and international marine policymaking that are aimed at preserving and protecting ocean life effectively. It will be essential to think holistically about the needs of human communities and ocean life, to share knowledge and data, embrace collective and transparent decision-making, provide adequate funding for innovations and monitoring systems, and act with foresight to optimally mitigate the mutually reinforcing impacts of climate change and other environmental crises on ocean life.
One thing is clear: marine biotic communities are vital for our livelihoods. By investing in their conservation and protection, we will be investing in a secure future for ourselves.