Strengthening Allied Support: Enabling Ocean Defenders' Resistance Efforts to Human Rights Violations in the Ocean Economy

The ocean economy is expanding rapidly as a driver of global economic growth, but this expansion often comes at a high cost to coastal communities. These communities bear the burdens of environmental degradation, displacement, and human rights violations due to longstanding marginalization and exclusion from decision-making processes. In response, many coastal communities – recognized as ocean defenders - are organizing to resist these impacts using diverse mechanisms, including communication campaigns, legal actions, and advocacy for fair compensation from governments and corporations. However, significant power imbalances challenge the success of these resistance efforts, making the support of allied organizations, such as grassroots networks, funders, non-profit legal organizations, researchers and network of academics, journalists, human rights institutions, and NGOs, essential. Despite this need, the role and potential impact of allied organizations remain understudied.

In this context, we present findings from semi-structured interviews with ocean defenders and representatives from allied organizations worldwide. Our findings, grounded in the lived experiences and needs of ocean defenders and their allied organizations, highlight the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and the value of diverse knowledge systems for addressing human rights issues in the ocean context. By showcasing these experiences, we underscore the mechanisms coastal communities use to protect their livelihoods, which align with the right to a healthy ocean and sustainable management practices. Additionally, considering the struggles rooted in power imbalances and unjust economic practices, this talk invites listeners to reconsider current ocean governance approaches and identify leverage points for more inclusive and respectful models that strive toward sustainable development. We conclude with key recommendations for enhancing collaboration and support for ocean defenders, emphasizing how allied organizations can effectively bolster coastal communities’ resistance efforts.