The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. With the increasing common challenges facing the international community, the call for improving global governance is getting louder.
Some months ago, I was part of a special ocean and culture story-telling workshop on my home island of Erromango, in southern Vanuatu.
The UK Government has signed an agreement with the Pacific Community (SPC) for £263,000 (US$359,000) that will help Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Tonga to secure the rights and responsibilities over their respective ocean spaces. Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are the custodians of 20
The Pacific Islands Forum is calling for changes to the law governing the region's maritime boundaries. A Regional Conference on Securing the Limits of the Blue Pacific focused on the legal options, institutional responses to the impact of sea-level rise on baselines and the context of inter
The WCEL Webinar "Are Multilateral Environmental Agreements effective for ocean conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region?" assessed the status of implementing ocean-related MEAs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Rights of Nature: Perspectives for Global Ocean Stewardship
The development of a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ agreement) is in the final negotiation phase. Legal recognition of rights of nature is emerging worldwide as a fresh imperative to preserve ecological integrity, safeguard human wellbeing, broaden participation in decision-making, and give a voice to nature – but so far exclusively within national jurisdiction. In this paper, we consider how a Rights of Nature perspective might inform the BBNJ agreement.
Traditional knowledge and the BBNJ instrument
Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are the holders of a vast amount of traditional knowledge of the ocean and its resources.
Oceans cover 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface.
Most of us have never been to the world’s immense last wilderness and never will. It’s beyond the horizon and often past the limits of our imaginations.