What would governance look like if the ocean had a seat at the table? In the Caribbean, the ocean is not just an economic zone — it’s a lifeline. But most governance models treat it as a resource to extract, not a living system to negotiate with. This project explored how ocean governance might be reimagined through a post-human lens, elevating multispecies agency, coastal knowledge, and climate risk into decision-making frameworks. In partnership with CMINDS and UNDP. Approach • Co-designed participatory governance models with Caribbean coastal leaders, UNDP teams and regional stakeholders • Integrated ecological justice, data sovereignty, and ancestral knowledge into institutional toolkits • Translated speculative governance methods into practical frameworks that could be adopted across ministries • Bridged climate policy, ocean ecology, and more-than-human narratives into regional capacity-building processes Impact • Introduced a multispecies governance frame into mainstream policy conversations in the Caribbean • Strengthened coastal stakeholder participation in cross-border marine policy development • Generated new legitimacy structures for ocean data, ritual, and governance • Positioned the work within broader global dialogues on planetary decision-making
2025