Ocean Rights: human and non-human rights to a healthy Ocean

Despite our jurisdictional carving of the Ocean, we in fact have one Ocean. An Ocean that is alive with history, authority, ancestor and kin. A living entity and being that is not only a resource, but our source of life. However, Ocean law and policy, and the science and values that inform its implementation and enforcement, are largely anthropocentric (or human-centered). This leads decision makers to view scientific metrics such as ‘Ocean health’ from a human dimension, or with humans as the primary beneficiary of a healthy Ocean. This is why I created the ‘Ocean Rights’ concept in 2017. It is a subset of the Rights of Nature movement, with over 300 initiatives, laws, policies and judicial decisions now existing in approximately 40 countries!

Ocean Rights is the moral and ethical recognition of the Ocean as a living entity with inherent rights and intrinsic values, but it is much more than the recognition of rights. It is a paradigm shift in how we view, treat and use the Ocean — a transformation in the human-Ocean relationship grounded in science (western and traditional). It is a recognition that human beings and non-human beings have a right to a healthy Ocean, and that human rights and wellbeing is dependent upon a healthy Ocean. In fact, the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights confirmed that the right to a healthy environment is not just a human right, but a right of Nature, including the seas.

How human society relates to and values the Ocean has direct implications for conservation. For example, in the context of fishing, overarching norms such as ‘Mare Liberum’ (Freedom of the Seas) and prevalent policy tools such as Maximum Sustainable Yield, have largely imagined marine ecosystems as free for all and seek to take the most we can out of a system without preventing collapse. In fact, the best available science is only binding in 26% of countries, and what is ‘sustainable’ is often ignored for human benefit and profit.

On the contrary, Ocean Rights embodies and respects the best available science and knowledge on the interconnected human-Ocean relationship as well as ecosystem linkages and system flows.

For example Ocean Rights requires us to:

• assess the biological interactions of the different individuals, populations and communities within an ecosystem and ensure they maintain their natural balance;
• ensure the interests and intrinsic values of marine ecosystems and species are represented in decision making processes affecting their health;
• ensure a plurality of values, including intrinsic values and cultural values, are taken into account in environmental impact assessments and cost-benefit analysis; and
• require an ecological dimension and lens in determinations of ‘what is healthy’, ‘what is severe harm’, and ‘what is ecologically sustainable.’

The effective and full implementation of Ocean Rights involves several strategies that combine legal, policy, governance, economic, educational, scientific and community-based approaches.

Instead of asking ourselves what is the science we need for the Ocean we want, how about we ask ourselves what is the science the Ocean needs?