By Kristina M. Gjerde, Senior High Seas Advisor to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Ocean Programme
Having recently been honored with the Elizabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy for my role in advancing the 2023 UN Agreement on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), I am pleased to have this chance to celebrate some of the other women in ocean conservation whose kindness, expertise and mentoring inspired me along my way. Yet I do not write this piece only for them, I write this piece for all the aspiring young women (and men) wanting to work in ocean conservation but unsure of where to begin or even unsure of themselves. I’d therefore like to share some of the lessons I’ve learned to encourage you on your important journey.
From Roman Law to Marine Policy
My career has taken a trajectory I could not have predicted when I was in college. These formative years taught me to follow my heart but do my homework by seeking out mentors and learning new skills.
In college, I could not make up my mind between studying modern Soviet or ancient Greek and Roman history, so I studied both. It was my admiration for the clarity of Roman law that prompted me to go to law school. But it was my passion to protect human rights in Soviet-era Russia that drove me to study international law, human rights law and the United Nations system. I did an internship at the UN Institute for Training and Research, where I researched the application of space technology and international law to UN peace-keeping operations. As there were no careers yet in international space law, I went for the more ancient tradition of admiralty law, of international shipping and trade, with its roots in ancient Greece and Roman law. Though at the time I hadn’t expected to apply my interests to ocean issues, I often lean on these early foundations.
Marine issues became central to my passion and my career path in the 1980s. In 1984, I joined the oldest law firm in New York City, Lord Day and Lord, in its admiralty law department, where I focused on contracts to lease ships, shipping disputes, and bankruptcy. However, my first scuba diving adventure in Palau in 1987 with my now husband, Adam de Sola Pool, opened my eyes to the wonderous world at risk from the very ships I was defending. I quickly decided to dedicate my life to protecting the vibrant corals and colorful fish.
Working out what to do or where to go to follow my passion was the next task. As I had no background in international environmental law, I realized I needed to learn more. I reached out to Sarah Chasis, a lawyer working with NRDC on ocean issues, who generously counseled me on various pathways, including educational opportunities.
Based on Sarah’s advice, I secured a post-doctoral Fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Marine Policy Center. With the help of Lynn Davidson, Greenpeace’s Marine Habitat Policy Coordinator, I was able to enter the world of coral reef conservation, international law, and ocean advocacy. Lynn, an innovator for her time, recognized the need to go beyond single-species to focus on coral reefs and associated ecosystems. With Lynn as co-author, we produced An Evaluation of International Protection Offered to Caribbean Coral Reefs and Associated Ecosystems. Working with Lynn, and yes, a professional editor, I learned to translate international legalese into understandable tools for advocacy and action.
My time at the WHOI Marine Policy Center also enabled me to interact with scientists studying the wealth of ocean ecosystems. An encounter with Cindy van Dover over a Xerox machine (remember them?) introduced me to the wonders of hydrothermal vents, inspiring my passion to defend little known and poorly protected marine ecosystems be they shallow or deep, within or beyond national boundaries. Cindy’s skill at translating complex science into visions the layperson could understand taught me the importance of working directly with scientists to inform international environmental policy.
Moving to the high seas
My career started to take shape through the 1990s and early 2000s and eventually centered on the conservation of marine life in the high seas and deep waters beyond national boundaries. My experiences and mentors taught me the benefits of networking between scientists and lawyers, the importance of tailoring arguments to an audience, and the need to balance passion with pragmatism.
When my husband was offered a job in London in 1991, we jumped at the opportunity for international living. In addition to working as a part-time research fellow with David Freestone (a wonderful male mentor) at the University of Hull, I was invited to attend the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on behalf of the IUCN Environmental Law Centre. There I got involved in the evolution of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs), an IMO designation for sea areas sensitive to shipping impacts. Through this work I met two amazing women. Lindy S. Johnson, Attorney Advisor at the NOAA’s Office of General Counsel, and Sian Pullen Prior , then of WWF UK Marine. Lindy, as part of the US delegation to the IMO, excelled at using the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to advance marine protection, even within the confines of conservative organizations such as the US Coast Guard and the IMO. From Lindy I learned to craft arguments based on international law to build support for protection measures. Through Sian, I learned the fine art of combining ocean science, law and advocacy to help secure the adoption of PSSAs for coral reef ecosystems including the Sabana Camagüey Archipelago in Cuba, Malpelo Island in Colombia, and the sea around the Florida Keys.
During the mid-1990s, I became a mother and we moved to Warsaw, Poland as a family. With my husband’s encouragement, I continued writing academic papers with David Freestone, policy briefs for Sian, and occasionally attending the IMO as well as other international coral reef and associated conferences. This helped me to stay involved even though we were far from the seat of the IMO.
In 2001, I was invited to a workshop on the Isle of Vilm in Germany to help figure out how to adopt marine protected areas (MPAs) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). At the time there were few measures to protect scientific research sites, deep sea corals, hydrothermal vents, seabirds, cetaceans and other creatures dwelling beyond national boundaries. My talk was to explore the application of PSSAs to the high seas.
At the Vilm Workshop, Lindy Johnson developed an analytical tool for determining when a particular threat might be redressed through existing legal instruments or where additional measures might be necessary. The PSSA turned out to be an important tool for shipping impacts but in my view did not do so well for the rising array of threats (habitat destruction, bycatch, IUU fishing, pollution, climate change) or provide active management to address cumulative effects. Lindy’s framework and the often-vigorous legal debates at Vilm inspired me to start thinking strategically about how to advance a truly global system of MPAs including in ABNJ under international law. Again, Lindy’s lessons in crafting legal arguments to appeal to even the most conservative audiences proved vital.
A timely Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation (together with funding from the JM Kaplan Fund) helped me secure a position as high seas policy advisor to IUCN, where I initiated development of a 10-Year Strategy for high seas MPAs with colleagues from IUCN, WWF International, IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN’s Environmental Law Center, BirdLife International, among others, during the 2003 World Parks Congress. There we agreed to advance MPAs on a regional basis, seek a global moratorium on destructive bottom trawling practices, and to collaboratively advance discussions on a possible new global legal framework. Working with scientists, MPAs managers, NGOs members, and legal experts helped to fill knowledge gaps and maintain the big picture of priorities. It was fun too.
Lee Kimball, a member of IUCN’s Commission on Environmental Law taught me how to work remotely in a complex organization like IUCN. Based on her 15 years’ experience as an NGO representative during the Law of the Sea negotiations, she also taught me how to work within the United Nations system to achieve change by crafting “options” rather than demands and crafting suggestions so they become another’s passion.
Also, in 2003 I was invited by Sylvia Earle to a conference called “Defying Ocean’s End”. I was instantly swept away by Sylvia’s audacious vision, grand convening capacity, silken voice, and infectious enthusiasm. Sylvia embraced me and the goal of protecting the high seas (she had first espoused the idea of Wild Ocean Reserves in ABNJ in 1999 when she was Chief Scientist at NOAA) and has been a tireless champion throughout the BBNJ processes. From Sylvia, I hopefully absorbed some of her ability to inspire and “infect” others with my own enthusiasm and passion.
Building coalitions
As many organizations were already working on sharks, cetaceans, sea turtles, seabirds, deep-sea corals, seamounts, fishing, shipping and other issues relevant to ABNJ, I began to wonder about the benefits of allying to better coordinate our efforts. Over lunch with Mirella von Lindenfels, the communications director for the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, we dreamt up the idea of a high seas alliance. Mirella’s expertise in big picture yet very down-to-earth strategic thinking enabled us to organize the first meeting of what became the High Seas Alliance (HSA) in 2011. The HSA grew into a political powerhouse of NGOs that played a leading role in advancing the BBNJ treaty discussions at the UN in New York and beyond.
To help foster more scientific input into the UN discussions, I joined forces with Lisa Levin, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who was determined to make knowledge of the deep ocean accessible and policy relevant. Together with deep sea scientists involved in the Census of Marine Life we formed the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI). DOSI became a key scientific voice during the UN BBNJ negotiations. It is because of Lisa’s persistence (and DOSI’s and IUCN’s support) throughout the UN negotiations that “climate resilience” plays such a major role in the BBNJ Agreement text. Lesson: be persistent in providing understandable science for busy diplomats.
Empowering the next generation
I can’t end this essay without a call-out to Harriet Harden Davies. I met Harriet in 2014 when, as a graduate student at the University of Wollongong researching marine genetic resources in ABNJ, she reached out to me. Harriet proved herself an essential partner and we have been collaborators and friends ever since. Now through her own initiative Ocean Voices, Harriet puts often vague promises of capacity building to work by enabling graduate students and early career professionals from ocean-dependent states to hone their science-diplomacy skills through training and access to international meetings. Working with Harriet helped me to realize that mentoring early career professionals can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a career.
Thus, to all the people aspiring to a career in marine conservation, I encourage you to be bold, brave, persistent, to believe in yourselves and to uplift others.
Here are some of my lessons that may help you along the way.
- Even the most obscure topics can be relevant to your future career.
- Follow your heart but do your homework. Be creative and persistent in seeking out mentors.
- Your own enthusiasm may be contagious. Make it so.
- Don’t tell people what they “must” do. Tailor your arguments to your target audience(s) and craft your suggestions so your ideas become their passion.
- Be pragmatic and creative in applying existing tools to new areas but keep the big picture and larger goal in mind.
- Try to see the commonalities in what others are working on and join forces where possible. Building networks can fill expertise gaps, reach new audiences and magnify strengths.
- Take the time to mentor early career professionals: it can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a career.
Acknowledgements
I would like to close by thanking the many colleagues, diplomats and government officials without whose hard work the BBNJ Agreement would not have been possible. I would particularly like to thank my IUCN colleagues including Grethel Aquilar, Minna Epps, Cymie Payne, Lydia Slobodian, Aurelie Spadone and Heidi Weiskel; my High Seas Alliance colleagues including Nichola Clark, Susanna Fuller, Liz Karan, Lisa Speer, Mirella von Lindenfels, Bec Hubbard, Peggy Kalas and Karen Sack, as well as my DOSI colleagues Maria Baker, Diva Amon, Harriet Harden Davies, Elva Escobar, Maila Guilhon and Lisa Levin. They all played an indispensable role in this long journey. And finally, I would like to thank the many men in my life I had the pleasure to work with as mentors, partners, collaborators and friends. But that is a topic for another essay.
Image at top: Kristina at the 1st Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee, April 2016. Photo by IISD ENB Francis Dejon