NZ Has A Vast Sea Territory But Lags Behind Other Nations In Protecting The Ocean
Two international ocean science and policy meetings this month have called on nations to be more ambitious in their efforts to protect and restore marine ecosystems.
For the past fortnight, the city of Nice in France has been the global epicentre of ocean science and politics.
Last week's One Ocean Science Congress ended with a unanimous call for action to turn around the degradation of the ocean. And this week, the United Nation's Ocean Conference agenda focused on better protection of marine biodiversity, sustainable fisheries and emissions cuts.
The message is clear. With only five years to the UN's 2030 target for its sustainable development goal – to conserve the oceans, seas and marine resources – and the Global Biodiversity Framework requirement to protect 30% of the ocean, we need to make significant progress.
We all attended last week's meeting, together with more than 2,000 marine scientists from 120 countries. Here, we reflect on New Zealand's role and obligations to contribute to these global goals.
Legal imperatives
Globally, the ocean is warming and acidifying at accelerating rates. New Zealand's waters are not immune to this, with more marine heatwaves which further stress our threatened marine biodiversity.
We depend directly on these ocean ecosystems to provide the air we breathe, moderate the impacts of climate change and feed millions of people.
New Zealand has significant influence on ocean policy – from Antarctica to the sub-tropical Pacific, and within its sea territory, which is 15 times the size of its landmass and spans 30 degrees of latitude.
The government is required by law to take action to secure a healthy ocean.
A recent advisory opinion from the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea unanimously found that states, including New Zealand, have obligations under international law to reduce the impacts of climate change on marine areas, to apply an ecosystem approach to marine law and policy, reduce pollution and support the restoration of the ocean.
New Zealand courts have recognised the need to take a precautionary and ecosystem-based approach to marine management, based on science, tikanga and mātauranga Māori. These legal cases are part of a global upswell of strategic environmental and climate litigation.
If New Zealand does not comply with these marine legal obligations, it may well find itself before the courts, incurring significant legal and reputational costs.
International agreements
In 2022, New Zealand was one of 196 countries that committed to protecting at least 30% of the world's coastal and marine areas by 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework. New Zealand was an enthusiastic supporter, but only 0.4% of its marine territory is fully protected in no-take marine reserves.
Former prime minister Helen Clark has criticised the current government for lagging behind on marine protection, especially in failing to ban bottom trawling.
At this week's UN ocean summit, a further 18 countries have ratified an agreement known as the High Seas Treaty, bringing the total to 50, still short of the 60 nations needed for it to enter into force.
New Zealand signed this treaty just before the last general election, but is yet to ratify it. Foreign Minister Winston Peters represented New Zealand at the UN ocean conference, but focused mainly on issues in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, the government announced sweeping changes to the national direction on environmental policy, including reworking the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement to better enable the use and development of the coastal environment for 'priority activities' such as aquaculture, resource extraction, infrastructure and energy.
Oceanic environmental change is real and accelerating
Some countries showed that effective leadership can help navigate to a safe future for the oceans. For example, China's commitment to clean energy has seen carbon dioxide emissions begin to fall for the first time despite higher power consumption.
At the UN ocean summit, French Polynesia's president announced his administration would establish one of the world's largest networks of marine protected areas.
The cost of inaction far outweighs the economics of the status quo. Ongoing ocean warming is already affecting weather patterns, with more extreme storms.
It is possible for marine ecosystems to recover quite rapidly if they are protected, at least temporarily. Yet this year, New Zealand's government found itself in hot water (once again) with both conservationists and Māori for its management of fisheries.
We argue New Zealand has an opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate it can shift the downward spiral of oceanic degradation.
The overwhelming message at the half-way point of the UN Ocean Decade is that for marine science to transform the state of our oceans it needs to include Indigenous peoples who have routinely been sidelined from ocean policy discussions despite their longstanding rights and relationships with the ocean.
New Zealand already has a foundation of transdisciplinary and Indigenous ocean research to develop ocean policies that are fit for local purposes and to answer global calls to action. We have a unique window of opportunity to lead the changes needed.
Conrad Pilditch, Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Elizabeth Macpherson, Professor of Law and Rutherford Discovery Fellow, University of Canterbury; Joanne Ellis, Associate Professor of Marine Science, University of Waikato; Karen Fisher, Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Karin Bryan, Professor of Coastal Oceanography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Rachael Mortiaux, PhD Candidate in Law, University of Canterbury, and Simon Francis Thrush, Director of the Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Disclosure statement
Conrad Pilditch currently receives funding from the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.
Elizabeth Macpherson receives funding from Te Apārangi The Royal Society.
Karin Bryan receives funding from the Marsden Fund, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, the George Mason Centre for the Natural Environment and Waikato Regional Council.
Simon Francis Thrush receives funding from ERC, Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and the Auckland Foundation
Joanne Ellis, Karen Fisher, and Rachael Mortiaux do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
29 minutes ago
- Scoop
Number Of People Uprooted By War At Shocking, Decade-High Levels
GENEVA – The number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution worldwide is untenably high, particularly as humanitarian funding evaporates, with the only bright spot being a pickup in returns, notably to Syria, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said today. According to UNHCR's annual Global Trends Report released today, there were 122.1 million forcibly displaced people by the end of April 2025, up from 120 million at the same time last year, representing around a decade of year-on-year increases in the number of refugees and others forced to flee their homes. The main drivers of displacement remain large conflicts like Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine and the continued failure to stop the fighting. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: 'We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering. We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes.' Forcibly displaced people include people displaced within their own country by conflict, which grew sharply by 6.3 million to 73.5 million at the end of 2024, and refugees fleeing their countries (42.7 million people). Sudan is now the world's largest forced displacement situation with 14.3 million refugees and IDPs, replacing Syria (13.5 million), and followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million). The report found that, contrary to widespread perceptions in wealthier regions, 67 per cent of refugees stay in neighbouring countries, and with low and middle-income countries host 73 per cent of the world's refugees. Indeed, 60 per cent of people forced to flee never leave their own country. While the number of forcibly displaced people has almost doubled in the last decade, funding for UNHCR now stands at roughly the same level as in 2015 amid brutal and ongoing cuts in humanitarian aid. This situation is untenable, leaving refugees and others fleeing danger even more vulnerable. 'Even amid the devastating cuts, we have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,' Grandi added. 'Nearly two million Syrians have been able to return home after over a decade uprooted. The country remains fragile and people need our help to rebuild their lives again.' In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees (the most for more than 2 decades) and 8.2 million IDPs (the second highest ever). Many of these returns, however, happened in an adverse political or security climate. For example, a large number of Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan in 2024, arriving home in desperate conditions. In countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and South Sudan, there were significant new forced displacements at the same time as the return of refugees and IDPs. The report calls for continuing funding of UNHCR programmes that save lives, assist refugees and IDPs returning home and reinforce basic infrastructure and social services in host communities, as an essential investment to regional and global security.
Scoop
34 minutes ago
- Scoop
Brazil Must Abandon 'Marco Temporal' Doctrine Once And For All, Says UN Expert
GENEVA (11 June 2025) – A UN expert today expressed grave concern about Brazil's continued use of the controversial 'Marco Temporal' legal interpretation to revoke the legal foundation for indigenous land demarcation and annul the demarcation of indigenous territories in Santa Catarina. 'This legislative move enforces the discredited 'Marco Temporal' doctrine, which restricts Indigenous land rights to territories physically and permanently occupied as of 5 October 1988, the date of Brazil's current Constitution,' said Albert Kwokwo Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Brazil's Senate has approved Legislative Decree No. 717/2024, which seeks to revoke the legal foundation for Indigenous land demarcation and annul the demarcation of the Toldo Imbu and Morro dos Cavalos Indigenous Territories in Santa Catarina. The Bill is now before the Chamber of Deputies. 'This is a deeply regressive step that undermines Indigenous Peoples' rights, environmental protection, and climate action, I urge lawmakers not to approve the Bill,' the expert said. The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil has already declared the Marco Temporal thesis unconstitutional. Despite this, the proposed decree threatens to hamper the work of the Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas (FUNAI), which plays a vital role in the demarcation of Indigenous lands. 'This is the fourth time in four years that the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples has raised public alarm over this issue,' Barume said, recalling statements issued in 2021, 2023 and 2024. 'It has also been the subject of formal communications with the Brazilian Government and should be of grave concern to the international community.' The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also issued warnings against the Marco Temporal thesis, which violates international treaties such as ILO Convention 169 and contradicts the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 'Marco Temporal not only undermines legal certainty and Indigenous land rights—it also fuels rural violence and environmental degradation,' Barume said. 'It threatens Indigenous Peoples' security, health and cultural practices, contributing to a slow and painful process that could lead to their extermination.' 'I urge Brazil to abandon the Marco Temporal once and for all. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated, Indigenous Peoples' rights are non-negotiable.'
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
NZ Has A Vast Sea Territory But Lags Behind Other Nations In Protecting The Ocean
Article – The Conversation Two international ocean science and policy meetings this month have called on nations to be more ambitious in their efforts to protect and restore marine ecosystems. For the past fortnight, the city of Nice in France has been the global epicentre of ocean science and politics. Last week's One Ocean Science Congress ended with a unanimous call for action to turn around the degradation of the ocean. And this week, the United Nation's Ocean Conference agenda focused on better protection of marine biodiversity, sustainable fisheries and emissions cuts. The message is clear. With only five years to the UN's 2030 target for its sustainable development goal – to conserve the oceans, seas and marine resources – and the Global Biodiversity Framework requirement to protect 30% of the ocean, we need to make significant progress. We all attended last week's meeting, together with more than 2,000 marine scientists from 120 countries. Here, we reflect on New Zealand's role and obligations to contribute to these global goals. Legal imperatives Globally, the ocean is warming and acidifying at accelerating rates. New Zealand's waters are not immune to this, with more marine heatwaves which further stress our threatened marine biodiversity. We depend directly on these ocean ecosystems to provide the air we breathe, moderate the impacts of climate change and feed millions of people. New Zealand has significant influence on ocean policy – from Antarctica to the sub-tropical Pacific, and within its sea territory, which is 15 times the size of its landmass and spans 30 degrees of latitude. The government is required by law to take action to secure a healthy ocean. A recent advisory opinion from the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea unanimously found that states, including New Zealand, have obligations under international law to reduce the impacts of climate change on marine areas, to apply an ecosystem approach to marine law and policy, reduce pollution and support the restoration of the ocean. New Zealand courts have recognised the need to take a precautionary and ecosystem-based approach to marine management, based on science, tikanga and mātauranga Māori. These legal cases are part of a global upswell of strategic environmental and climate litigation. If New Zealand does not comply with these marine legal obligations, it may well find itself before the courts, incurring significant legal and reputational costs. International agreements In 2022, New Zealand was one of 196 countries that committed to protecting at least 30% of the world's coastal and marine areas by 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework. New Zealand was an enthusiastic supporter, but only 0.4% of its marine territory is fully protected in no-take marine reserves. Former prime minister Helen Clark has criticised the current government for lagging behind on marine protection, especially in failing to ban bottom trawling. At this week's UN ocean summit, a further 18 countries have ratified an agreement known as the High Seas Treaty, bringing the total to 50, still short of the 60 nations needed for it to enter into force. New Zealand signed this treaty just before the last general election, but is yet to ratify it. Foreign Minister Winston Peters represented New Zealand at the UN ocean conference, but focused mainly on issues in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the government announced sweeping changes to the national direction on environmental policy, including reworking the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement to better enable the use and development of the coastal environment for 'priority activities' such as aquaculture, resource extraction, infrastructure and energy. Oceanic environmental change is real and accelerating Some countries showed that effective leadership can help navigate to a safe future for the oceans. For example, China's commitment to clean energy has seen carbon dioxide emissions begin to fall for the first time despite higher power consumption. At the UN ocean summit, French Polynesia's president announced his administration would establish one of the world's largest networks of marine protected areas. The cost of inaction far outweighs the economics of the status quo. Ongoing ocean warming is already affecting weather patterns, with more extreme storms. It is possible for marine ecosystems to recover quite rapidly if they are protected, at least temporarily. Yet this year, New Zealand's government found itself in hot water (once again) with both conservationists and Māori for its management of fisheries. We argue New Zealand has an opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate it can shift the downward spiral of oceanic degradation. The overwhelming message at the half-way point of the UN Ocean Decade is that for marine science to transform the state of our oceans it needs to include Indigenous peoples who have routinely been sidelined from ocean policy discussions despite their longstanding rights and relationships with the ocean. New Zealand already has a foundation of transdisciplinary and Indigenous ocean research to develop ocean policies that are fit for local purposes and to answer global calls to action. We have a unique window of opportunity to lead the changes needed. Conrad Pilditch, Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Elizabeth Macpherson, Professor of Law and Rutherford Discovery Fellow, University of Canterbury; Joanne Ellis, Associate Professor of Marine Science, University of Waikato; Karen Fisher, Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Karin Bryan, Professor of Coastal Oceanography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Rachael Mortiaux, PhD Candidate in Law, University of Canterbury, and Simon Francis Thrush, Director of the Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Disclosure statement Conrad Pilditch currently receives funding from the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. Elizabeth Macpherson receives funding from Te Apārangi The Royal Society. Karin Bryan receives funding from the Marsden Fund, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, the George Mason Centre for the Natural Environment and Waikato Regional Council. Simon Francis Thrush receives funding from ERC, Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and the Auckland Foundation Joanne Ellis, Karen Fisher, and Rachael Mortiaux do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
