On 7 and 8 May 2026, Fenja Kroos from Ecologic Institute participated in the interdisciplinary expert workshop "Sustainability at Sea: Transformations in Contemporary Ocean Governance" at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg. This workshop brought together researchers from political science, international law, human geography and sustainability studies to discuss how ocean governance is evolving in response to rapid environmental, geopolitical and societal change.

The workshop explored how sustainability is reshaping governance across marine resource management, maritime security, the blue economy and questions of blue justice. Discussions examined how formal and informal governance arrangements, diverse actor networks and competing visions of sustainable ocean use influence authority, legitimacy and decision-making across local, regional and global scales.

As part of the session "Implementing Ocean Sustainability: Technologies, Regions, and Policy Challenges", Fenja Kroos gave a presentation on "Arctic Ocean governance in times of rapid change". The presentation examined how accelerating climate change, shifting ecosystems and growing human activities are challenging existing governance arrangements in the Arctic Ocean. It highlighted the Arctic as a complex multilevel governance system and discussed the implications of the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement for biodiversity conservation beyond national jurisdiction.

Drawing on Ecologic Institute's work in the DynArc and YESSS projects, the presentation addressed governance challenges arising from rapid environmental change and explored opportunities for more adaptive approaches to marine conservation.

The workshop concluded with discussions on future research priorities and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration to advance sustainable and just ocean governance in an increasingly dynamic marine environment.