LSE IGA Visiting Fellow Torsten Thiele spoke at the International Marine Conservation Congress in St.John’s, Newfoundland this week. He was also part of an expert workshop identifying issues in preparation of the next round of discussions later this month at the United Nations for a new High Seas Biodiversity Agreement. The congress, the most important international meeting for marine conservation professionals and students, gave an opportunity to bring additional marine scientists into the debate on better ocean governance.
Having participated in the launch of the Nekton Deep Sea mission the week before Torsten briefed the audience on such new forms of collaborations. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has drawn on this work to propose for the first time 5 potential High Seas World Heritage Sites and fittingly launched the report this week from a depth of 200m below the sea on a Nekton mission submersible!