A Stocktake of Ocean Governance Fifty Years after Stockholm: New Challenges for International Law

Abstract

The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) was a milestone as the first global meeting of governments to address threats to the environment, including the ocean and seas. Over the fifty years since the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, new pressing threats to the marine environment have emerged, such as loss of marine biodiversity, including in the high seas, marine plastic pollution, climate change, and illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing. This article will review the developments that have taken place at the International Maritime Organization and other bodies of the United Nations to address these new threats to the marine environment, reflecting how international law continues to play a vital role in promotion of ocean governance.