This webinar outlined the findings of EDS’s latest report on oceans reform. Pathway to Oceans Reform is the culmination of EDS’s multi-year oceans policy work. Aotearoa New Zealand’s oceans are large, diverse and extremely valuable. They support most of the country’s wildlife, a sizeable blue economy, and have strong cultural and social value. Although often perceived as wild and untouched, the oceans are experiencing profound and increasing impacts from human activity.
Numerous reports and scientific papers have concluded that the oceans management system is not up to the job of managing our oceans well and there is a need to urgently fix it. In this final report we set out a series of practical steps to achieve this. They include a statutory National Oceans Strategy, Marine Spatial Planning Framework and Marine Protected Areas Act. We also propose an Oceans Commission to act as a champion and voice for the ocean. In EDS’s view, the time has long passed for talking and we need to get on with the job of oceans reform.
Presented by the report’s author Raewyn Peart, Policy Director at EDS.
Free copies of the report are available in hard copy (postage only payable) or pdf from the EDS bookstore.