A Super Year for Ocean Governance: A Dream Deferred?

This policy brief examines the disruption of 2020's planned 'Super Year for the Ocean' due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that while key negotiations on biodiversity, fisheries subsidies, and climate change were postponed, the crisis provides an opportunity to shift toward a 'Green Stimulus Framework' and a systemic change in how the global community values and governs ocean resources.

• The year 2020 was designated as a 'Super Year for the Ocean' intended for critical negotiations on ocean governance, biodiversity, and sustainable development, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the postponement of these global meetings.
• The ocean provides essential ecosystem services, including oxygen production, carbon storage, and climate regulation, but is currently seriously degraded due to fossil fuel emissions and overexploitation.
• Climate projections from the IPCC and IPBES indicate that high emissions will lead to devastating ocean warming, sea-level rise, acidification, and reduced fish production, with impacts occurring faster and on a larger scale than previously modeled.
• Despite the Paris Agreement, global emissions continue to rise; the UN Environment's 2019 Emissions Gap Report suggests the world is on track for a 3.2°C temperature increase even if all national commitments are met.
• Several key intergovernmental processes were stalled in 2020, including the adoption of a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in China, the conclusion of high seas biodiversity negotiations under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and WTO fisheries subsidy negotiations in Kazakhstan.
• Current economic indicators like GDP fail to account for the depletion of natural resources; the author advocates for 'full-cost accounting of natural capital' to reflect the true wealth of nations.
• The author proposes a 'Green Stimulus Framework' for post-pandemic economic recovery, focusing on renewable energy, circular economy models, and the restoration of degraded seascapes and landscapes.

APA

CHEVALLIER, R. (2020). A Super Year for Ocean Governance: A Dream Deferred? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Insights-85-chevallier.pdf

Chicago

CHEVALLIER, ROMY. A Super Year for Ocean Governance: A Dream Deferred? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Insights-85-chevallier.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CHEVALLIER |first1=ROMY |title=A Super Year for Ocean Governance: A Dream Deferred? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Insights-85-chevallier.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chevallier2020super, author = {CHEVALLIER, ROMY}, title = {{A Super Year for Ocean Governance: A Dream Deferred?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Insights-85-chevallier.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }