This event was part of the series of webinars featuring new scientific ‘Blue Papers', commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel). 

Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Time: 10.00AM-11.30AM (BST) / 17:00-18:30 (UTC+8)

Watch the video:

Ocean governance is a “collective responsibility of humanity” and must ensure that those who have lived in, worked on, and stewarded coastal and continental waters are included in future governance decisions.

Through a historical lens, this paper illustrates the differing economic, legal, institutional, social, and cultural relationships people of varying cultures have with the ocean. Focusing on the institutions that affect access and rights, this paper addresses concerns about the appropriation of marine resources and the displacement of indigenous visions for ocean governance by identifying ways in which these culturally distinct institutions are compatible and charting a path toward inclusive ocean governance. 

WorldFish’s Research Chair for Equity and Justice in the Blue Economy, Eddie Allison, and Honorary Fellow, John Kurien, who are both co-lead authors of the paper, and other panel members and stakeholders, have shared their reflections on the appropriation of marine resources and the displacement of indigenous voices for ocean governance as well as the suggested opportunities for ensuring that a plurality of ‘ocean values’ are represented in achieving a sustainable ocean economy.

Panelist:

  • Eddie Allison, Research Director, Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, and Research Chair for Equity and Justice in the Blue Economy, WorldFish (Co-lead author)
  • Sophie Benbow, Head of Marine, Fauna & Flora International 
  • Taholo Kami, Special Representative for Oceans; Sherpa to the Prime Minister on the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, Fiji 
  • John Kurien, Founding Member of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, Visiting Professor at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, India and Honorary Fellow at WorldFish, Penang, Malaysia (Co-lead author)
  • Nireka Weeratunge, Anthropologist and independent scholar, affiliated as a Research Fellow to the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Contributing author)

Moderator:

  • Heather Koldewey, National Geographic Fellow, Programme Lead, Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science, Senior Technical Advisor, Zoological Society of London 

To learn more, visit "The Human Relationship with our Ocean Planet" official webpage and follow their official Twitter @oceanpanel.