Connecting People and Ocean webinar series: The Law of the Sea and Ocean Governance

It is becoming urgent to reassess the legal, ethical, and political paradigms underpinning marine governance, in line with the UNOC3 Declaration “Our ocean, our future: united for urgent action”. This webinar will explore the evolving legal landscape surrounding ocean rights, examining how the concept of the Rights of Nature is reshaping international law, conservation strategies, and the human-nature relationship. 

Through case studies such as Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of nature’s rights and the legal personhood for whales, the webinar will explore the meaning of granting legal subjectivity to ecosystems and the related possible challenges. 

We will also explore the role of area-based solutions such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in this context, gaining insights on how the protection of marine areas and species contributes to the goal of safeguarding 30% of the ocean space by 2030 and the implications for human rights, given the different ways this target may be pursued by nation-states (top-down, bottom-up, or policentric strategies).

Presentations by experts Michelle Bender (Ocean Vision Legal) and Leopoldo Cavaleri Gerhardinger (Brazil’s National Institute of the Atlantic Forest) will be followed by “dive deeper” breakout room sessions, where participants will have the chance to deepen some aspects of the talks and engage in a more interactive discussion with the speakers.

Date: 6 November 2025

Duration: 1.5 hours

Time: 5 pm CET 

Relevance:

• Relevant for COP30

• Opportunity to clarify the Ocean Decade endorsement application process