News | 16 Jun, 2022

Recommendations for mainstreaming equity and justice in ocean organizations policy and practice

CEESP News: Nathan Bennett, Freelance Consultant, Small Ocean Solutions, Founder and Lead, The Peopled Seas Initiative, Chair, IUCN CEESP People and the Ocean Specialist Group.

Figure 1 What is ocean equity?

Photo: Nathan J Bennett

The mainstreaming of equity and justice has become a central concern of ocean policy and sustainability efforts. Yet, many ocean-focused governmental, non-governmental and funding organizations often lack the foundational knowledge, mandate, capacity, and diversity to be able to adequately account for and address equity and justice issues.

In a new opinion editorial, Nathan Bennett (Chair of the People and the Ocean Specialist Group) provides six recommendations for how marine conservation and development organizations can establish a strong internal foundation for mainstreaming equity and justice issues in external marine policies, practices, programs and portfolios.

These recommendations include the following:

Develop awareness of past equity and justice issues in marine policy spheres where the organization works;
Explore how equity and justice are defined and can be operationalized in marine policy and practice;
Mainstream equity and justice in organizational policies, practices, programs, and portfolios;
Increase organizational human dimensions capacity and ability to think socially;
Support marine social science research and engage with evidence regarding the human dimensions; and,
Commit to internal organizational equity, diversity and inclusion as a foundation for external equity and justice work.

Creating strong organizational foundations is an important starting place and enabler for advancing equity and justice in the ocean.