Ocean Conservation and Sustainability: Policy and Strategies

We will study the benefits of marine protected areas for biodiversity, the economy and their role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. We will also look at strategies, tactics and main challenges for their designation and implementation.

 

We will also address critical issues in the sustainable use of the sea such as fisheries management, control of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the use of new surveillance technologies and enforcement strategies, and the protection of endangered species.

 

We will review some of the major international agreements that can have a major impact in addressing ocean threats. These include the World Trade Organization agreement on fisheries subsidies, the Marine Biodiversity Agreement forAreas Beyond National Jurisdiction, the role of regional fisheries management organizations, CITES, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the continuing international negotiations on climate change.

 

The blue economy will be an important part of this course. In the marine realm we can clearly see that there is noincompatibility between nature conservation and economy. We will see some of the real cases in which economic activities have been developed without detriment to the health of the ocean and to the benefit of the livelihoods of communities and countries.

 

By the end of the course, students will have navigated a wide range of tools that they can use to help save the ocean and with it, the planet.