The Equity Puzzle of Ocean Litter was a virtual seminar through the University of Washington. It was hosted by the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center and co-hosted by Ocean Voices. A friend of mine who attends the University of Washington recommended this virtual event to me.
The lecture was focused on the issues and inequity of policy-making surrounding ocean protection. It highlighted organizations and entities that have little to no say in ocean litter governance. The event then outlined a call to action through the integration of new and old voices that want to promote equity and justice in marine litter policy and management.
The director of The Nippon Foundation Center explained how the current relationship between the oceans and our political-economic system is “unsustainable, unstable and inequitable.” He advocated for creating a platform for ocean management that recognizes the existing inequalities and is willing to embrace innovative solutions in order to make oceans equitable for everyone. He suggested that this field of innovation is an interdisciplinary approach that requires the combination of technology, innovation, and human will. I appreciated his repetitive use of the concept ‘Equity Puzzle”. This terminology highlighted the complexity of the situation at a human and eco-economic level.
Growing up in Washington, the ocean has always been close to my heart. My dad and I have spent the majority of my life on the water or by it. I am familiar with garbage patches, ocean mining, and overconsumption issues, yet I never labeled the ocean as inequitable. The governance side of ocean equality never occurred to me. This event pushed me to look at the ocean differently than I have in the past and in a way made me feel mournful for our ocean. This event cleverly walked a fine line between hope being beneficial to grasp onto and the detonating world.