Ocean Justice Strategy

by Dani Purvis, Wild Cumberland

On January 23, I was fortunate to represent Wild Cumberland at a White House Ocean Justice meeting hosted at the Georgia Aquarium. Ocean Justice (OJ) is the intersection of ocean protection and social equity, or making sure everyone gets a seat at the table and their fair share of the meal. In December 2023, the White House released the Ocean Justice Strategy, a groundbreaking report that defines ocean justice (OJ) and outlines initiatives to embed OJ in federal activities, improve representation in the federal workforce, and enhance OJ through education, data collection, and community knowledge. 

Also at the January 23 meeting were Chair of the White House Council for Environmental Quality (ECQ) Brenda Mallory and her staff, Georgia Aquarium staff, and fellow members of national and local environmental organizations. The goal of the meeting was to discuss the following questions:

• What does ocean justice look like to you, your community, and your work?
• What are some ocean injustices that the Federal government should address?
• How can the Federal government further OJ? What does success look like?

Several scientists kicked off the discussion by grounding OJ in our local context, noting social and environmental considerations such as the needs of indigenous Gullah-Geechee communities and the unique ecological structure of the Georgia Bight and the confluence of gulf streams. Often, OJ is invisible in some communities due to competing priorities, such as economic justice or education, or because these communities have not traditionally had a seat at the table when making ocean management decisions. 

Meeting participants unanimously highlighted an important ocean injustice: the weak education pipeline meant to prepare historically marginalized people for roles in ocean conservation and management and create a more diverse and representative workforce. From the lack of student empowerment in education and teacher burnout to inadequate federal investment in education (particularly for HBCUs) to low retention rates of BIPOC scientists, there are many critical but actionable gaps in each part of the education pipeline. 

Yet every problem has a solution, and meeting participants provided Chair Mallory with several strategies to improve OJ in Georgia. To develop kids’ interest in science, hands-on experiences like field trips or ocean literacy programs in after-school programs allow kids to gain scientific experiences, and teacher trainings can better prepare teachers to build scientific excitement, discuss OJ topics, and combat burnout. Increasing financial investments in education systems and HBCUs can improve retention of historically marginalized students like BIPOC in scientific pathways. Given the historic lack of POC and indigenous representation in ocean conservation spaces, using culturally sensitive outreach and education is vital to bringing them into the fold. For example, Gullah Geechee and POC communities are less likely to communicate through traditional institutional channels (e.g., public comment), so alternative channels should be identified. In addition, OJ education must be bi-directional – all stakeholders have knowledge to offer and to gain – and embrace local ecological knowledge (e.g., identifying culturally important sites or culturally defined environmental indicators). Finally, establishing community resources like public-private partnerships, collaborations between students and communities, and technical and funding assistance like grant writing and RFP access support can enhance community capacity to advance OJ. 

I also shamelessly plugged Cumberland Island as an excellent environment for kids to fall in love with environmental sciences like marine biology or ecology, but I noted that the steep ferry and entry fees effectively prevent low-income families and communities from accessing the island. Creating a more equitable fee structure for Cumberland Island and other parks can reduce financial barriers to access and allow more young kids to visit the island and develop scientific zeal and a love of place. 

Chair Mallory is holding similar meetings with scientists, advocates, academics, and representatives from other organizations working on OJ-related work across the nation, and we hope ECQ will maintain open communication channels around the future of OJ in the US. I’m honored to be part of the discussion and heartened by this discussion and the signal from the Biden-Harris administration that ocean conservation with an emphasis on justice is a major priority for the federal government.