(NEWS) Future Ocean Programme Consultative Seminar

November

2025

Future Ocean Programme Consultative Seminar

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Following last year´s joint meetings and capacity development seminars, the World Maritime University–Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU-GOI) convened a Future Ocean Programme Consultative Seminar on 23 October 2025 at WMU in Malmö and online. The seminar was held as a part of the Sargasso Sea Commission (SSC) Stewardship Project Technical Meetings hosted by the WMU-GOI.

The seminar reviewed Year 1 progress across the Programme’s four research pillars and outlined priorities for Year 2, engaging participants in a consultative roundtable to guide future research and support transformative ocean action. Attendees included Future Ocean Programme Principal Investigators, external expert advisors, technical specialists, and researchers in ocean governance.

In his opening remarks, Professor Ronán Long, Director of the WMU-GOI highlighted the Programme’s objectives, global partnerships, and links to the BBNJ Clinic supporting legal capacity development for small island developing states. Session 1 featured updates from the four pillars, covering interactions among ocean governance regimes, the role of non-state actors, advances in ocean observation and data-driven decision-support tools, and scenario-based modelling to address systemic inequalities and inform BBNJ implementation. Presenters underscored the Programme’s interdisciplinary collaboration and its contributions to innovative legal and policy tools for ocean sustainability.

Session 2, “Towards Transformative Ocean Action,” engaged invited experts in discussion on high seas governance, addressing inter-pillar linkages, modelling approaches, marine technology, non-state actor integration, and governance challenges in states with limited policy space. As the Programme has entered its second year, the seminar played an important role in refining research priorities and strengthening partnerships for upcoming publications, events, and outreach.

For more information, contact futureocean@wmu.se or visit https://futureocean.wmu.se/.

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