The World Maritime University (WMU)-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) and the Sargasso Sea Commission hosted a series of joint meetings and capacity development seminars at WMU headquarters in Malmö, Sweden.
The event included distinguished special lectures on the topics of ocean sustainability, governance and protection of the marine environment. Professor Maximo Q. Mejia Jr, WMU President, met with the delegation and congratulated the Commission on their achievements, inviting future collaboration on matters of common interest.
(GEF) project
The joint event commenced with project meetings for the Sargasso Sea Commission Global Environment Facility (GEF) project, of which WMU is a partner, on “Strengthening the Stewardship of an Economically and Biologically Significant High Seas Area – the Sargasso Sea”. Discussions included review of the Socio-Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis SEDA_Structure_Rev_2, as well as a Steering Committee Review.
SEDA and the Strategic Action Plan
The distinguished commissioners, invited experts, and observers discussed the agenda points on SEDA and the Strategic Action Plan. Professor David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission noted the importance of formalizing conservation and governance measures for the Sargasso Sea, and the alignment with the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).
Distinguished guests
In addition to Professor Freestone, distinguished guests included HE Ambassador Ron Pinder, Ambassador-at-large of the Bahamas as well as Honorable William P. Moore, Former Canadian Senator.
Future Ocean
The WMU-GOI hosted an informative session on the final day titled “Future Ocean – How to combat the triple planetary crisis?”, that included the four pillars of the Future Ocean Programme (FOP). WMU Principal Investigators Dr. Zhen Sun, Dr. Aleke Stöfen-O’Brien, Dr. Aspasia Pastra and Dr. Ríán Derrig presented the work carried out to date on topics related to Regimes & Institutional Interactions, Non-state Actors, Co-designing a Blueprint for Ocean Observation Technologies and the Future of Ocean Governance.
Ocean Governance, liability and the Sargasso Sea
The event concluded with a webinar as part of the distinguished lecture series titled “Ocean Governance, liability and the Sargasso Sea”. An international audience of onsite and online ocean professionals attended the lecture by Professor Måns Jacobsson on “Liability for damage to the marine environment in private and public law”, as well as a capacity development presentation by Professor Freestone and Ms Fae Sapsford entitled “Story about the Sargasso Sea Commission and contributions to the World Ocean Assessment III”.
The Future Ocean Programme is funded by The Nippon Foundation and aims to generate knowledge and understanding of how law, political science, and public policy are used to effect change in humanity’s relationship with the ocean to combat the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution.
