The White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced the release of the U.S. Ocean Justice Strategy.
With a vision focused on equitable access to the benefits of a healthy and resilient ocean and sustainable ocean economy, meaningful engagement of all communities in federal ocean activities, recognition of the value of engagement with tribal nations, indigenous peoples, and indigenous knowledge in ocean decision-making and research, expanded and improved ocean education, building ocean knowledge and creating a diverse and inclusive ocean workforce, and application of an ocean justice lens to ocean research and ways of knowing, the Strategy includes the following three goals:
- Embed ocean justice in federal activities by providing opportunity for meaningful
community engagement, better incorporating equity into funding processes and budget
development, embedding ocean justice into Federal practices, and improving interagency coordination - Develop a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible federal ocean workforce by growing federal staffing capacity, increasing recruitment within the Federal ocean workforce and leadership pipeline, and recruiting and retaining students and early-career professionals; and
- Enhance ocean justice through education, data, and knowledge by expanding and improving ocean education and workforce development, considering and applying indigenous knowledge throughout federal research and development, applying an ocean justice lens to ocean research and ways of knowing, and expanding the federal tools used in characterizing social and environmental justice patterns to encompass ocean justice indicators.
As to embedding ocean justice in federal activities, the Strategy calls on agencies to, among other things:
- Incorporate ocean justice metrics in federal programmatic evaluation, including through Ocean Policy Committee development of suggested metrics for agency use to address and advance ocean justice (including through new policies, regulations, or guidance documents), and agency guidelines on how programs or other federal activities may impact or relate to ocean justice communities
- Conduct engagement with appropriate planning and active dialogue or other interaction with stakeholders in which all parties can contribute, including seeking and considering the views and input of communities on federal activities that may directly or indirectly impact uses including coastal tourism, ocean planning, fishing, aquaculture and harvesting, spiritual, religious, or cultural practices, offshore energy production, marine conservation, and restoration
- Engage ocean justice communities for input at the earliest possible stage to ensure that community needs are met and undue burdens do not result
- Allow for sufficient time for meaningful public participation, including for ocean justice communities, such as by ensuring that comment periods or grant application deadlines take into account known community constraints, such as extending sufficiently beyond a fishing season or allowing for additional time in the event of a natural hazard affecting likely participants
- Solicit feedback through a variety of mechanisms that account for diversity in culture, accessibility needs, and capacity, making efforts to clearly articulate how feedback has been considered and incorporated into the decision-making process
- Consider the use of tools such as Community Benefit Agreements, stipulating the benefits a developer agrees to fund or furnish, in exchange for community support of a project
- Provide ocean justice communities with access to federal decision-making
- Lean into the leadership of their regional branches, take proactive steps to ensure that ocean justice communities are aware of available regional resources, and engage with municipalities, states, territories, and regional groups on ocean justice issues
- Explore ways in which the federal government can improve access on federal properties where feasible and appropriate, and work with states and territories to address questions of coastal access (Ocean Policy Committee)
- When possible, coordinate when soliciting feedback from communities on similar topics to reduce consultation and engagement burdens on communities
During remarks at COP28 in Dubai, CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said that while the ocean “is a life source for us all,” ”because of historic injustices and underinvestment some communities are hit harder by devastating climate change impacts.” She added that the Strategy will “help to address historic inequities, improve the well-being of people in communities connected to the ocean, and safeguard a healthy ocean for everyone.”
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Arati Prabhakar said that the Strategy “clearly sets out our values as the climate changes,” stating that “we must engage with communities whose lives are intertwined with the ocean and the Great Lakes.”
