The once bountiful and pristine oceans have been degraded through massive, multi-faceted, and complex activities. These sessions will explore the human-induced ecological burden on oceans, and what can be done to reduce the most harmful actions. Maritime shipping carries 90 percent of world trade, yet there are emissions and spills that result from this vital activity. Other harmful impacts to consider include: IUU fishing, global ocean warming, ocean acidification, sea ice loss, sea level rise, mangrove destruction, coral reef loss, ocean plastics, noise pollution, and invasive species.

The need to share the World Ocean has generated extraordinary international cooperation over the last century but there are new areas of geopolitical tension. To date, UNCLOS provides a critical legal framework to bring order to the maritime world. Similarly, the International Maritime Organization has produced many pioneering international conventions regarding marine safety and environmental protection. Scores of conservation areas have been created to project marine resources. Yet these sessions will also consider the contested future of oceans and coastal areas facing sea-level rise. How will the challenges of small island nations, access to Arctic waterways, control of the South China Sea, and increased resource competition undermine areas of geopolitical agreement?

These sessions will provide a global perspective on how we currently map and monitor the oceans. It will also give a glimpse of what and how geospatial tools will be used in the future to sense the vastness of our oceans. As the oceans constitute more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, it is no surprise that much of it is still unmapped – if not physically, then biologically. International organizations such as the International Hydrographic Organization, World Meteorological Organization, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recent report on the Changing Oceans & Cryosphere are enhancing our scientific understanding of the oceans. New technologies are closing this gap, but the oceans most inhospitable depths leave us with a vast unknown that we must better understand before we will be able to develop appropriate protective measures.

Since the earliest days of humanity, oceans have served as both a reliable source of bounty and an engine for economic growth. Societies that figured out how to harvest maritime resources and navigate the vast expanse of unchartered waters came to dominate human history. Unfortunately, over-extraction and other human impacts on the oceans is extensive, and has created the need for protection of our Blue Planet. How these trends of reliance on and protection of our vast ocean spaces play out in the future will fundamentally reshape the future of humanity. These discussions will explore the investments and policy decisions that can, will, and should be made if we are to deal with the different ecological burdens that humanity has foisted upon maritime areas.