International

The design and monitoring of international law and policy for the ocean must be informed by the knowledge and experience of those who are most reliant on the ocean for their livelihoods, social, or cultural needs. This is a primary focus of the Hub’s international research.

Activities in deep waters can affect coastal waters and those who live on land. Picture from Ghana. Photo: AdobeStock_115310176


The ocean is one and inter-connected, and yet it is managed by laws and policies covering specific areas from local, national, regional, and international scales. Activities in deep waters can affect coastal waters and those who live on land. Achieving SDG 14 will require ocean management approaches to be integrated across different geographies and scales, as well as across different sectors of ocean use.

The design and monitoring of international law and policy for the ocean must be informed by the knowledge and experience of those who are most reliant on the ocean for their livelihoods, social, or cultural needs. This is a primary focus of our research. In turn, we will explore how the implementation of international laws, particularly human rights and environmental law, can affect change on the ground in the protection of groups who are often marginalised in decision making but often most affected by the outcome. We are focusing particularly on small-scale and artisanal fishing communities, indigenous peoples, women and children.

We aim to support better recognition of human rights for sustainable and just decisions on the ocean by:

  • Offering new legal interpretations on the links between human rights and a healthy ocean;
  • Developing an integrated evidence base on real-life challenges for indigenous peoples, small-scale fishers, women and children; and
  • Developing inter-disciplinary guidance on integrating marine ecosystem services and human rights, including the right to fair participation in decision-making processes

In doing this, we hope to contribute to the development of inclusive, integrated, transparent and sustainable blue economies and societies.

Latest International News

UN CLIMATE COP 27: WHAT NEWS FOR THE OCEAN?

After the historical mandate to integrate the ocean in all areas of work under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Glasgow COP in November 2021, and the Ocean-Climate Dialogue at the UNFCCC Intersessional Meeting at Bonn in June 2022, this blog post provides a rapid assessment of the COP27 outcomes […]

CLIMATE CHANGE & ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN AREAS BEYOND NATIONAL JURISDICTION

As part of the COP27 Virtual Ocean Pavilion, the One Ocean Hub coordinated an event on 16 November 2022, on the interlinkages between ecosystem services, climate change and the governance of these elements in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Watch the recording here. BACKGROUND Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) comprise the high seas and the […]

Exploring the Links between One Health, the Ocean and Climate Change

To ensure a holistic approach to ocean-climate action, different actors working from the local to the global level have shared their insights on the links between One Health, the ocean, coastal communities’ resilience, marine bio-discovery, fisheries and blue food, and ocean plastics. The roundtable titled ‘One Health, the Ocean and Climate Change’ was held on […]