Fair decision-making process
The role of procedural and distributional justice in ocean governance cannot be overstated as we strive to build a safe and just operating space for humans and biodiversity (Bennett 2019a; Costanza et al. 1998). Equity, human rights, and social justice are core principles here as envisioned in Agenda 21, RIO+20 and Agenda 2030. Moreover, these principles are important to strengthen an equal distribution of costs and benefits of ecosystem services. It is also important to address the injustice indigenous and traditional people are facing from colonization such as political domination, loss of territory and cultural imposition which are addressed under the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (Moore 2016). For example, the planning and implementation of conservation zones need to be based on more reflexive (Action 3), balanced (Action 29), transparent (Action 23), and inclusive (Action 30) decision-making frameworks that ensure biodiversity and equity goals are considered. These frameworks ensure that communities relying on and benefitting from these and neighbouring zones are engaged and included in the management decisions and processes. Implementing this type of framework will require changes to legislation and policy, as well as new forms of financial incentives. Such changes may be difficult to achieve, especially in low-income countries that face important challenges in the transition towards a fair and just use of natural resources and may require long time frames for full implementation. They are dependent on long-term funding for monitoring, compliance, reporting and surveillance technology (Action 5). However, the application of a human rights-based approach to ocean governance (Allison 2001; Allison et al. 2012; Zheng 2018) and the movement away from property-rights approaches, may lead to actors taking responsibility for non-inclusivity and overdependence on marketisation and privatisation. Fair ocean citizenry and stewardship may be encouraged. In turn, existing legal and policy frameworks may be improved (Actions 2, 38) and better-suited to achieving sustainable ocean governance (Allison et al. 2012).