Background

The ocean is the world’s largest biome, covering 70% of the Earth. Oceans and coastal areas have been essential for humanity to thrive, and are essential in many aspects, including for housing, transportation, food, culture, and leisure. Clean, healthy and sustainable oceans are critical for humanity’s survival, especially for Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities, and for the survival of healthy and sustainable ecosystems, which many species depend on.

Despite the importance of oceans, human-induced activities are causing significant environmental and climate impacts, some of them irreversible, to an extent that are also impacting the enjoyment of several human rights, including the right to a healthy environment, right to life, food, work, culture, among others. Harmful impacts are linked to unsustainable practices such as overfishing and pollution including from oil spills, oil and gas extraction, waste and sewage dump, plastic, and noise pollution from shipping vessels and other sources. Other marine harms include inadequate planning and control of large projects such as power plants, wind turbines, ports and tourism areas; and urbanisation.

The IPCC report confirms that climate change is exacerbating these impacts leading to increasing ocean warming and acidification, changing weather patterns, extreme weather events including frequent marine heat waves, glacial melts, sea level rise and saltwater contamination.^[1.1] In fact, scientific studies have concluded that ocean acidification is one of the planetary boundaries that is close to be breached.^[1.2] Scientists have recently^[1.3] raised the alarm on the potential irreversible effects of the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system of ocean currents regulating heating and cooling of the world’s climate. Other irreversible impacts include the collapse of fisheries, and extinction of species.

At the same time, there is an important series of international, regional and national policies and laws regarding ocean governance. However, the level of implementation of these legal frameworks varies, affected by the rule of law, institutional and technical capacities. Lack of data is also a major challenge as with some areas with ocean industrial activities are either not adequately tracked, regulated or monitored, including in South Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, also affecting marine protected areas and World Heritage sites.^[1.4]

Climate, environmental and biodiversity impacts are demanding urgent and immediate global solutions. The resource richness of the oceans and their important contribution to a safe climate and biodiversity globally has motivated a new series of projects, plans and investments, in what has been called a “blue economy”. Linked initiatives include blue carbon, establishing ocean, marine and coastal protected areas, and the potential extraction of critical minerals, among others. Some of these actions have been implemented without adequate safeguards and might be threatening human rights.

Guaranteeing strong and effective ocean governance is critical considering the importance of oceans, their status and threats. This is also important due to its direct connection to the enjoyment of all human rights, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. Therefore the Special Rapporteur aims to contribute to the implementation of this right by analysing the situation of oceans from a human rights perspective, identifying threats and challenges that States are facing in securing their protection, and identifying tools and solutions that can be implemented to effectively guarantee human rights, prioritising Indigenous Peoples, women and small scale fisherfolk, local communities, while also protecting and conserving oceans, the largest ecosystem on Earth.

Objectives

The report will contribute to understanding the state of oceans within the framework of human rights, in particular in relation to marginalized people, communities and groups. It will identify effective policies, frameworks, and solutions that States, businesses, international organisations, Indigenous Peoples, coastal communities, and civil society can implement to fulfil their rights and obligations, while restoring oceans and coastal areas and preventing further degradation. The report will advance adaptive, inclusive, and evidence-based management measures to reduce the vulnerability and cumulative impacts on oceans.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Special Rapporteur welcomes inputs regarding the following themes:

1. Information regarding effective measures, policies, and laws, for the protection, conservation, and restoration of oceans that incorporate ahuman rights approach.This includes measures based on the precautionary principleand other international law standards.
2. Examples of best practices and suggested solutions of human rights-based approaches to the environmentally sustainable management of marine, coastal and oceans areas, and resources. This can include examples at national and regional level.
3. Examples of how human rights related to the oceans have been fulfilled including through the protection of marginalised communities; including examples of community management of marine and coastal areas, restoring of ecosystems and fisheries, and the role and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, women, children, and youth.
4. Main challenges for the protection and prevention of damages to the ocean and coastal areas, in relation to the effective implementation of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, including ongoing policies or efforts to overcome these.
5. Information regarding frameworks, measures, or safeguards of the protection of the right to a healthy environment applicable to projects, plans or initiatives related with the conservation or protection of oceans, such as the creation of marine protected areas, protection of fisheries, blue carbon and development of projects and infrastructure.

If there is information that you have previously sent to other special procedures or human rights mechanisms that may be relevant, we urge you to share this as well.

1.1. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability “Chapter 3: Oceans and Coastal Ecosystems and their Services” https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/chapter/chapter-3/

1.2. Richardson, K, Steffen, W., Wolfgang, L. et al. “Earth beyond six of nine planetary” in Science Advances, 13 Sep 2023 Vol 9, Issue 37 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458

1.3. Ditlevsen, P., Ditlevsen, S. Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Nat Commun 14, 4254 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39810-w

1.4. Paolo, F.S., Kroodsma, D., Raynor, J. et al. Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea. Nature 625, 85–91 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8 and McVeigh, K “Human activity is powering ‘a new industrial revolution’ at sea, say experts” in The Guardian 3 January 2024