By Kalinga Seneviratne * SYDNEY, Australia | 21 August 2026 (IDN) — In the past year there has been a scramble by the big powers to secure the continuing supply of “rare mineral” that are used in batteries driving electric cars and wind power turbines. There is a looming catastrophe awaiting the Pacific Ocean if […]
South Pacific – Samoa: When the Ocean Moves Closer
By Thomas George Tofaeono APIA, Samoa. 8 July 2026 (IDN/Wansolwara) — Waves no longer appear in the usual areas they used to in many Samoan Villages, and the lands that connect our homes to the sea are becoming smaller. This raises concerns about how we should fight this threat. After heavy rainfall, it is saddening […]
Malawi Has No Coastline. We’re Fighting for The Ocean Anyway
By Dr George Chaponda The writer is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Malawi. LILONGWE, Malawi | 1 July 2026 (IDN) — When Malawi became the first landlocked country to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, we affirmed a simple but powerful principle: stewardship of the global commons is a shared responsibility, not a […]
Whither the Law of the Sea?
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 1 July 2026 (IDN) — David Attenborough said in his wondrous documentary film, Ocean, that it had taken him a long time in his 99 years of life to understand that for the survival of our planet the oceans are more important than the land. This past four months, as […]
Is Quad’s Port Development in Fiji Really Development Assistance?
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY, Australia | 9 June 2026 (IDN) — At the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) in New Delhi late May, a grand “aid” scheme to develop ports in the South Pacific was announced, starting with the Fiji Islands. As QUAD looks for relevance in an environment in Asia […]
Perfect Peace in Antarctica
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 19 November 2025 (WorldView) — In 1772, sailing to the far south, Captain James Cook deflated the prevailing myth of Antarctica, that it was a temperate land, fertile and populated. Although he never landed on the continent, he saw the vast icebergs, the frozen sea and the “worst weather […]
A Law of the Sea?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 11 June 2025 (IDN) — David Attenborough said in his wondrous new documentary film, “Ocean”, it had taken him a long time in his 99 years of life to understand that for the survival of our planet the oceans are more important than the land. This week as we […]
Global Ocean Treaty Two Years On: A Chance for International Cooperation
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | 3 March 2025 (IDN) — Greenpeace deems the second anniversary of the Global Ocean Treaty being agreed on March 4 “a victory for multilateralism and a chance to protect the ocean worldwide”. Bringing it to life as soon as possible is the only way to keep the 30×30 ocean target […]
Navigating a Low-Carbon Future: Maritime Decarbonisation on the 2025 Global Agenda
By Pascal Lamy and Geneviève Pons* BRUSSELS | 15 February 2025 (IDN) — Ten years ago, at COP21 the Paris Agreement was adopted as a global response to the threat of climate change, aiming at limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In the same year, world leaders also committed to thriving the […]
European Companies Feed the Dangerous Global Shadow Fleet
By Nathaniel Peutherer* LONDON | 9 February 2025 (IDN) — On 19 July 2024, the oil tanker Hafnia Nile was nearing its top speed when it collided with the supertanker Ceres I, off the east coast of Malaysia. Within minutes, flames engulfed both vessels, sending thick plumes of toxic smoke into the air. Several crew […]