Episode 4 - Civil Society

Episode 4 – Civil Society

Series on Stakeholders in BBNJ: PART 2 Civil Society

It’s not just government delegations that participate in ocean negotiations. There are countless non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who observe and advise in the negotiations and support implementation.  These NGOs have real concerns about protecting marine biodiversity and increasingly campaign about ocean equity.

• What is the role of civil society in the BBNJ negotiations?

• Which new bodies will be established under the new agreement?

• How does the design of the committees carry implications for ocean equity?

In this episode, we talk to civil society and meet Rebecca Hubbard, the director of the High Seas Alliance – a global Alliance of more than 60 NGOs and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Guest: Rebecca Hubbard

Hosts: Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki⁠ & ⁠Jennifer Macey⁠

Sound design and editing: ⁠Emily Perkins⁠

Communication: Sunnefa Yeatman

For comments & feedback please contact: [e-mail]

Find out more:

ANCORS Ocean Equity page https://oceanequityresearch.org/

ANCORS at the University of Wollongong https://www.uow.edu.au/ancors/

You can find official documents in preparation for the First Preparatory Commission Meeting on the United Nations Website: https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en/meetings/preparatory-commission/documents/first-session

High Seas Alliance Website: https://highseasalliance.org/

Research on the BBNJ process by ANCORS researchers:

Lothian, S. (2023). The BBNJ preamble: More than just window dressing. Marine Policy, 153, 105642-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105642

Lothian, S. L. (2022). Marine conservation and international law: legal instruments for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I., & Vadrot, A. B. M. (2024).Pathways of scientific input into intergovernmental negotiations: a new agreement on marine biodiversity. International Environmental Agreements : Politics, Law and Economics, 24(2–3),325–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-024-09642-0

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I. (2023). Science-policy interfaces for ocean protection: The case of the international negotiations for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Doctoral Thesis. https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/detail/o:1978693

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I., & Vadrot, A. B. M. (2022). Governing a Divided Ocean: The Transformative Power of Ecological Connectivity in the BBNJ Negotiations. Politics and Governance, 10(3), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v10i3.5428

Tessnow-von Wysocki, I., & Vadrot, A. B. M. (2020). The Voice of Science on Marine Biodiversity Negotiations: A Systematic Literature Review. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.614282