Ms. Kristina Gjerde

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Ms. Kristina Gjerde is Senior High Seas Advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Global Marine and Polar Programme and adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, where she teaches an intensive course on international marine law. For almost 30 years, Ms. Gjerde has worked on the progressive development of public international law relating to the marine environment, with a growing focus since 2003 on the high seas and international seabed Area. Her many interests include ocean governance, shipping, fishing, deep seabed mining, as well as tools and technologies for advancing marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

To advance science-based progress,  Ms. Gjerde co-founded and currently serves on the boards of four initiatives: the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI), a multidisciplinary scientific partnership, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, the Sargasso Sea Project and the High Seas Alliance. More recently,  Ms. Gjerde became a member of the Executive Planning Group of the UN Decade of Ocean Science. She is the author or co-author of over 150 publications, many with leading ocean scientists. 

Ms. Gjerde’s recent articles include: Ortuño Crespo et al (2020), “Beyond static spatial management: scientific and legal considerations for dynamic management in the high seas”;  Drazen et a, (2020), Midwater ecosystems must be considered when evaluating environmental risks of deep-sea mining, PNAS; and Building a platform for the future: The relationship of the expected new agreement for marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” (Ocean Yearbook).  Ms. Gjerde received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law with a focus on comparative and international law, and practiced admiralty law for several years in a New York City law firm.  She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.