The world’s oceans are vast, and more than half are outside the jurisdiction of any one country. 

These so-called ‘high seas’ are vitally important to the environment, biodiversity and global economy, but they face a growing number of threats. 

The United Nations has introduced a landmark treaty to safeguard them – but what will it do and is it enough? 

Join us on Wednesday, 25 February at 14:00 UTC for episode 10 of TalkLandscape, where we’ll be exploring the high seas, including: 

• why they’re much more important than you might think 

• some of the threats they face, from deadly ships to deep sea mining 

• and what’s being done to save them. 

We’ll be speaking with Mariamalia Rodriguez Chaves, attorney for the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defence Ocean Program, Wassim Dbouk, a marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, University of Southampton, and Elissama Menezes, co-founder and director at Equal Routes.

Join us on Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube — no sailing experience necessary.  

Mariamalia Rodriguez is a Costa Rican attorney with the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defence‘s (AIDA) Ocean Program, based in San José, Costa Rica. She has significant experience working with environmental non-governmental organizations and as an independent consultant on various environmental issues. Rodriguez is also a member of the Group of Experts of the United Nations Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socio-economic Aspects (Regular Process) and of the Legal and Technical Committee of the International Seabed Authority. 

Wassim Dbouk is a marine and maritime policy research fellow at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, University of Southampton. He specializes in law and policy in the marine and maritime space, and his expertise spans climate governance, ocean policy and industrial decarbonization, with a strong focus on bridging research and policy. Dbouk has participated at UN climate summits since COP26, initially as an observer and, since COP28, as a negotiator on the Just Transition Work Programme with the Lebanese delegation. 

Elissama Menezes is a co-founder and director at Equal Routes. She is an oceanographer and marine governance graduate who works with communities and the shipping sector to push for solutions at the intersection of climate, biodiversity, health, justice and equity. Growing up in Brazil’s favelas and building a life in Canada shaped her approach that real change happens when research, advocacy and lived experience come together.