22:00 UTC+10 Tues 13 Feb 2024 | Virtual
Watch the recording
Background
From a Global Plastic Treaty to the SEEA Oceans framework to the signing of the High Seas Treaty, 2023 was a huge year for sustainable ocean development around the globe. It has become increasingly recognised by the global community that "Achieving climate neutrality, reducing pollution and restoring nature will not be possible without Ocean knowledge", as agreed by co-organisers of the EurOCEAN 2023 Conference. While Member States continue to debate important multi-lateral processes and treaties, the next steps for every region will be different.
This webinar united experts from across the globe to provide reflections on regional progress made in 2023 and strategies for advancing sustainable ocean development in 2024. This is an important discussion in the lead-up to events such as the Ocean Sciences Meeting, Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, Africa's Blue Economy Summit and UN Environmental Assembly in February, the UN Ocean Decade Conference in April and the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development in July.
Convening regional communities in regular dialogues is essential to inclusive and equitable ocean governance. The first episode of the SDR Hub webinar series will focus on sustainable ocean development, a core focus of the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP). GOAP is an initiative under the SDR Hub's pathways to sustainable development: Development Beyond GDP. The webinar directly addresses challenges identified by the GOAP Global Community of Practice including a lack of awareness of the use of ocean accounts for ocean governance, lack of stakeholder engagement and communication and difficulty bridging the gap between data generators and policy makers.
Panelists
Chair
Dr Ben Milligan, Co-Director of the Sustainable Development Reform Hub will facilitate discussions between the panelists.
Juan Pablo Castañeda, Director at Research Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology (IARNA)
Juan Pablo Castañeda has over 20 years experience in natural capital accounting, cost-benefit analysis, ecosystem services valuation and whole-economic modelling, which he has used to coordinate and advise programs and projects worldwide. He has published over 20 articles on the risks and uncertainties related to green growth and natural capital accounting. Extended bio in link. Points for discussion include:
- An overview of the discussions held about natural capital accounting for development policy in 2023, particularly at events such as the Our Ocean Conference (June 2023), London Group 29th Meeting (Sep 2023) and 4th International ESP Latin America and Caribbean Conference (Nov 2023)
- The priorities to advance sustainable ocean governance in 2024, globally and in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Topics of interest for GOAP's upcoming Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (July 2024)
Kirsten Oleson, Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Prof. Kirsten Oleson leads the Oleson Ecological Economics Lab at the University of Hawaii. The interdisciplinary lab team uses qualitative and quantitative analysis to value ecosystems, and modelling to study alternative economic welfare indicators and policies. With over 60 publications in international journals, books and technical reports, she is a leading expert in valuing nature and sustainable economic growth based on environmental and resource policy. Extended bio in link. Points for discussion include:
- How alternative economic welfare indicators are placed in global and regional discussions of ocean sustainable development. This could be in reference to events in 2023 such as the Fourth Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (July) and Climate Week (Sep 2023).
- What is needed in 2024 to catalyse the use of alternative economic welfare indicators in global and regional policies.
- Topics of interest for GOAP's upcoming Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (July 2024)
Manuel Castillo, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, Environment and Development Division, UN-ESCAP
Manuel Castillo is an Environmental Affairs officer at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). He holds a Legum Magister degree (LL.M. Eur. Int.) in European/International Law from University of Dresden, Germany. Additionally, he is a Doctor of Law (Dr. iur.) from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
At UNESCAP, he is coordinating a project to advance environmental rights in the region: including procedural rights: access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice and remedy in environmental matters. He is the focal point for the Ocean protection work lead by the Environment and Development Division, focusing on global and intergovernmental processes and policies.
In previous United Nations positions, he has worked on climate change issues, including interlinkages between climate change, public health and renewable energies. Points for discussion include:
- How discussions of ocean governance and development have changed, particularly at events such as the tenth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (March 2023), UN World Data Forum (April 2023) & Sixth Asia-Pacific Day for the Oceans (Oct 2023)
- ESCAP's work in strengthening equality and inclusivity, particularly for the fields of statistics and economics and what this means for ocean data
- The priorities to advance sustainable ocean governance in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024.
- Topics of interest for GOAP's upcoming Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (July 2024)
Yvonne Waweru, Senior Advisor, Western Indian Ocean Governance Initiative ProjectUN-ESCAP
Trained in environmental law and having worked in research and advisory roles for the Western Indian Ocean region for over seven years, Yvonne is an expert in sustainable ocean governance in the region. Points for discussion include
- How ocean governance and development was discussed in 2023 in the region, particularly at events such as the Pre-COP28 AGNES Strategy Meeting (Oct 2023) and Marine Regions Forum, Tanzania (Nov 2023)
- The role of the High Seas Treaty in enhancing sustainable ocean governance and goals for treaty ratification in 2024
- The priorities to advance sustainable ocean governance in the Western Indian Ocean region in 2024
- Topics of interest for GOAP's upcoming Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (July 2024)
Patrick Bogaart, Statistical Researcher Ecosystem Accounting and Biodiversity, Statistics Netherlands
Dr Bogaart designs, develops and applies innovative tools for data analysis, visualization, numerical modeling, and decision support, within the broad scope of earth, environmental and economical systems. His current focus is on natural capital (accounting) and ecosystem services.
- Challenges in ecosystem accounting in the North Sea (data, concepts, valuation, and alignment between data sources)
- The focus of sustainable ocean development in 2023 in the European / North Sea (including the balance between energy (wind), nature conservation / restoration and food (fisheries) and associated societal tensions)
- The research landscape for 2024 including collaborations and priority projects
- Topics of interest for GOAP's upcoming Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (July 2024)
Learn more
This webinar is part of a monthly webinar series where guest experts discuss topics related to the three pathways of the SDR Hub: Development Beyond GDP, Unlocking Zero-Carbon Transitions, Economies that work for People and Nature. Episodes will involve 30-45 minutes of discussion followed by 15-30 minutes of Q&A from the audience. Webinars will be live, and recordings hosted on the SDR Hub website.
About the Sustainable Development Reform Hub
The Sustainable Development Reform Hub (SDR Hub) connects knowledge and people to catalyse pragmatic and ambitious legal, policy and governance reform towards sustainable development. To achieve this, the SDR Hub takes an applied interdisciplinary approach to build enduring and diverse research, education, and knowledge exchange partnerships with a global network of decision-makers across government, international institutions, local communities, and the private and non-profit sectors.
Established in 2022 by the University of New South Wales' (UNSW) Faculty of Law and Justice, the SDR Hub strives to fulfil the public responsibilities and mission of UNSW; to provide education, conduct research and contribute to society. Hub activities span more than 20 countries and are organised around three pathways: Development Beyond GDP, Unlocking Zero-Carbon Transitions, Economies that work for People and Nature.
