Strengthening Capacity in Ocean Governance

Ocean governance presents special challenges for States in understanding and carrying out their obligations. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is supported by secretariats that provide capacity building, training and technical assistance. Yet ocean governance is fragmented, and there are many multilateral and regional institutions that have competences in fisheries, climate change, trade, shipping and other aspects of ocean affairs. Challenges in inter-regime coordination arise, both practically and theoretically. This article describes collaborative training initiatives in ocean governance in the Asia-Pacific, to which UN agencies, the World Bank and academic partners contribute. It seeks to account for these activities according to the precepts of regime interaction and the duty to cooperate in international law, and demonstrates the importance of an inclusive approach to learning and capacity-building in ocean governance.