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Prof Morgera Contributes to European Commission’s study on EU-Africa cooperation on ocean governance

Prof Elisa Morgera

One Ocean Hub, University of Strathclyde, UK

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The study aims in particular at assessing the feasibility and modalities of setting up a new EU-Africa Task Force for policy cooperation and dialogue on international ocean governance.

Prof Elisa Morgera has been interviewed as part of the preparations of a study commissioned by the European Commission, DG MARE (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries), which explores the need for further work in the context of the EU’s partnership with Africa to develop a joint ocean governance agenda, including the development of sustainable fisheries and blue economy.

Prof Morgera drew on the experience of the One Ocean Hub and the findings of her study for the European Parliament on biodiversity as a human right and its implications for the EU’s external relations, to suggest:

  • the need to include a range of marine and social scientists, together with lawyers and economists, in the proposed task force:
  • for the task force to focus on:
    • the strengthening of the science-policy interface for international ocean governance (through more strategic and coordinated use of various EU instruments such as financing for research and civil-society projects, political dialogues, and capacity-building activities);
    • the connectivity across various ocean challenges and land-based activities (on which EU-Africa cooperation is more established);
    • the inter-dependency of ocean health and human rights, with a view to integrating relevant considerations in joint initiatives or coordination in international negotiations on the ocean, human rights and the environment;
  • the need for the task force to be “inclusive” in terms of connecting directly with local-level stakeholders and rights-holders in a meaningful way, with the role of local academic and civil-society organizations to support that; and
  • for the task force to develop a full understanding of ongoing and planned initiatives on ocean governance in Africa, with a view to ensuring complementarity and value added of any new proposed EU-Africa initiatives.

Any research and written materials that One Ocean Hub colleagues can speak to the above topics can be submitted to the team preparing the report for the European Commission, so that they can included in the literature review. If you are interested, please contact elisa.morgera@strath.ac.uk.