Kristina Gjerde

Last updated
Kristina Gjerde
Education University of California, Los Angeles
New York University (JD)
Employer International Union for Conservation of Nature
Known forMarine law, ocean conservation

Kristina Maria Gjerde is a High Seas Policy Advisor for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Marine and Polar Program [1] . She works on the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative and won the 2018 Boat International Visionary Ocean Award.

Contents

Education and early career

Gjerde studied history at University of California, Los Angeles. She graduated summa cum laude in 1981. [1] She moved to the east coast and studied law at New York University, graduating Juris Doctor in 1984. [2] [3] She worked on the use of space technology in conflict prevention as an intern at the United Nations. [4] She specialised in admiralty law at Lord Day & Lord. [2] She was not allowed to join the admiralty law social club, the Whitehall Club, as it did not accept women members. [4] During a scuba diving trip to Palau, Gjerde became interested in protecting the oceans. [1] She was awarded a two-year fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1988. [5] She evaluated the international protection that was given to Caribbean coral reefs. [6] [7] This report made her realise that it was possible to force constructive change through analysis and negotiation. [4] She greatly admired Elisabeth Mann Borgese. She joined the University of Hull as a research fellow and lecturer. [4] She has represented the World Wide Fund for Nature at the International Maritime Organization since 1993. [4]

Career

Since 2002, Gjerde has served as High Seas Policy Advisor for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [8] At the International Union for Conservation of Nature Gjerde is responsible for helping communities and governments protect the environment. [9] In 2003, Gjerde was awarded a Pew Foundation fellowship in marine conservation to promote improved legal regimes for oceans that were beyond the jurisdiction of nations. [1] [10] She was elected as New York University School of Law's alumna of the month in 2004. [1] [4] She worked on ways to protect deep-sea coral ecosystems. [11] Gjerde delivered a TED talk, Making law on the high seas, in 2014. [12] Since 2015, Gjerde has been a member of the Cambridge Conservation Agenda for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction and the EU project Managing Impacts of Deep Sea Resource Exploitation (MIDAS). [13] [14] She is an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, teaching the Masters program on International Environmental Policy. [15] [3] She is interested in how we can use law, science, technology and economics to manage global oceans. [3] She was made an honorary fellow at the University of Edinburgh in 2016. [16] She actively participates in the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions negotiations at the United Nations and the negotiations on deep sea mining regulations at the International Seabed Authority. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Gjerde has delivered several keynote talks on ocean conservation. [21] [22] She co-founded and helped to lead the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, the High Seas Alliance, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative and the Sargasso Sea Project. [15] [23]

Deep Sea Conservation Coalition

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (founded 2004) work to address to issue of bottom trawling in high seas, which has harmful impacts on the environment. They look to reduce the greatest threats to life and safeguard the health of deep-sea ecosystems. [24]

Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative

The Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (founded 2008) is an international partnership that supports conservation of biological diversity in the deep sea and open ocean. [8] They develop data, tools and methods to identify ocean areas in need of special care. [8] She supports this with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. [1] They found that female northern elephant seals swim halfway across the pacific to find areas to feed. [25] They identified where white sharks congregate in the northeastern Pacific. [25] She was involved with the 2018 celebrations for the ten-year anniversary of the initiatives. [26]

Sargasso Sea Alliance

The Sargasso Sea Alliance (founded 2010) looks to protect the health and productivity of the Sargasso Sea. It looks to serve as a model for ways to achieve protective status for areas beyond national jurisdiction. [27] She published Lessons from the Sargasso Sea in 2016. [28] In 2016 the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization closed the Corner Rise Seamounts and New England Seamounts to bottom fishing. [28]

High Seas Alliance

The High Seas Alliance (founded 2011) is a partnership of organisation that conserve the high seas through international cooperation and governance. [29] They work with global leaders, non-governmental members and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [30]

Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative

The Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative (founded 2013) use stake-holder workshops, publications and surveys to engage experts in law, policy, economics and conservation. [31] They work with national and global policymakers, as well as educators and civilians. [31]

Gjerde won the 2018 Boat International Media Visionary Ocean Award. [15] [32]

Publications

Gjerde has published in many journals including the Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, the Ocean Yearbook, and Science .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected area</span> Areas protected for having ecological or cultural importance

Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources is limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Union for Conservation of Nature</span> International organization

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine protected area</span> Protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes

Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations, MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish. The value of MPA to mobile species is unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine conservation</span> Protection and preservation of saltwater ecosystems

Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is informed by the study of marine plants and animal resources and ecosystem functions and is driven by response to the manifested negative effects seen in the environment such as species loss, habitat degradation and changes in ecosystem functions and focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, restoring damaged marine ecosystems, and preserving vulnerable species and ecosystems of the marine life. Marine conservation is a relatively new discipline which has developed as a response to biological issues such as extinction and marine habitats change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation International</span> Nonprofit environmental organization

Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine ecosystem</span> Ecosystem in saltwater environment

Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.

Arlo Hanlin Hemphill is an American wilderness advocate. His educational background is in marine biology. Hemphill is a Fellow National of the Explorers Club and has been listed in Nature as one of 100+ global biodiversity experts, credited for his expertise pertaining to the Greater Caribbean and the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspots. He is best known for his involvement in regional-scale ocean conservation and was a founding steering committee member of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, the Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea and Areas of Influence, and the Sargasso Sea Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep sea mining</span> Mineral extraction from the ocean floor

Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the ocean floor at depths of 200 metres (660 ft) to 6,500 metres (21,300 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Commission on Protected Areas</span> Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral Triangle</span> Ecoregion of Asia

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Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life, and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Sala’s present goals are to help protect critical marine ecosystems worldwide, and to develop new business models for marine conservation. He also produces documentary films and other media to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy environment, and to inspire country leaders to protect more of the natural world.

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The United Nations Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty, also known as the High Seas Treaty or the BBNJ treaty, is a legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The text was finalised during an intergovernmental conference at the UN on 4 March 2023 and adopted on 19 June 2023. Both states and regional economic integration organizations can become parties to the treaty.

On 25 June 2021, the president of Nauru, Lionel Aingimea, made a formal request to the president of the International Seabed Authority's (ISA) council to complete the adoption of rules, regulations and procedures necessary to facilitate the approval of plans of work for exploitation of deep-sea resources in the Area. This request is based on the "2-year rule", which is part of a provision from the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The provision can be found in section 1 of the annex, and it states that the ISA must complete the adoption of rules, regulations and procedures for the approval of the exploitation of deep-sea minerals within 2 years of the request. The ISA's current deadline for drafting new regulation is set in July 2023, although some claim that this is not a "hard" or "fixed" deadline. Due to the issue's complexity, negotiations have thus far failed to come to a concrete agreement. Even if it fails to set clear standards for deep-sea mining activities, the ISA must consider applications for exploitation in waters outside national jurisdictions and provisionally approve contracts after July 2023. Many experts fear that deep-sea mining activities that are not adequately regulated could significantly impact the marine environment, the economies of many nations and the livelihoods of indigenous groups who depend on the oceans for survival.

References

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