A new award to recognise and empower early-career change-makers committed to safeguarding the high and deep seas has been launched at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi. The Ocean Stewardship Award has been established by renowned ocean advocate Kristina Gjerde and her family with support from Synchronicity Earth.
The award will not only provide financial support but also mentorship, training, and access to an international network of experienced and committed experts from all disciplines working at the forefront of global ocean conservation.
“The younger generation are the greatest hope for the planet, and I would like to help reward, nurture, and support early-career global ocean advocates through this new award.”
Kristina Gjerde, Founder of the Ocean Stewardship Award
Kristina’s legacy: A career of advocating for the ocean
Kristina Gjerde has spent a career of over three decades working to protect the ocean, particularly giving a voice to the marine ecosystems that are often furthest from people’s minds: the high seas and deep ocean.
Kristina started her career in maritime law, but after her first scuba dive in Palau, she realised she would rather defend the ocean’s fish and corals than its ships. Since that decision, she has become a fierce advocate for marine life.
Kristina Gjerde speaking at the 1st Session of the BBNJ Preparatory Committee, April 2016. Image © IISD ENB Francis Dejon
Her vision to use international law as a tool to protect tropical corals took a new turn after she saw a video of bottom trawls trashing deep-sea coral reefs in 2001, which is when she started to specialise in marine ecosystems beyond national boundaries (the high seas) and deep-sea species and ecosystems.
Since then, she has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications on fisheries, shipping, law of the sea, and marine biodiversity conservation issues. She has also co-founded five pioneering partnerships: the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, the High Seas Alliance, the Sargasso Sea Alliance, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, and the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative. She has taught international ocean law at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and is currently an Honorary Professor of the University of Edinburgh.
Kristina’s advocacy and academic work have been a vital part of international efforts for landmark changes in ocean conservation at the international level, including the 2023 Agreement for Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (also known as the High Seas Treaty), and the ongoing campaigns for moratoria on high seas bottom trawling and deep-sea mining.
DSCC members at International Seabed Authority Council meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. Kristina is first on left and fellow Ocean Stewardship Award Steering Committee member Diva Amon is on the far right. Image © IISD
More recently, her attention has broadened to the need for precautionary governance of marine geoengineering and protecting the ocean twilight zone (mid-ocean ecosystems that connect the high seas and deep seabed below). Kristina works closely with scientists to inform her work and to empower them to reach policy audiences. Mentoring early-career professionals is one of her passions.
Kristina also serves on multiple advisory boards, including the Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Edinburgh Ocean Leaders, and has worked as an advisor to IUCN for over twenty years. Most recently, she participated in the One Ocean Science Committee to develop the One Ocean Science Congress and prepare recommendations for the United Nations Ocean Congress in Nice, France in June 2025.
In 2023, Kristina received the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas’ Fred Packard Award and in 2024 Kristina was honoured with the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy for her instrumental role in the 2023 UN Agreement on Biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Her greatest honor, according to Kristina, was the naming of a new deep sea coral species found off the waters of New Caledonia after her, Kanak Gjerde. Kanak is a new genus named in honor of the Indigenous Kanak people of New Caledonia.
Investing in the next generation of ocean stewards
Kristina was inspired to change careers from maritime law to ocean protection after learning to scuba dive. Image © Kristina Gjerde
In her early career, when she was transitioning into marine conservation, Kristina was awarded a two-year fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Marine Policy Center. Later, she was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, which she used to investigate, highlight, and promote opportunities to improve high seas governance. Synchronicity Earth’s Ocean Programme has supported her work as a pro-bono adviser, researcher, and advocate since 2020.
Kristina Gjerde and her family have established the Ocean Stewardship Award in recognition of the need to support change-makers focused on the global ocean for work that is often overlooked when it comes to funding, but vital in the journey to achieve changes in public perception, policy, and protection for our oceans.
The annual award will combine financial support with access to, and training with, people already experienced in the sector and able to pass on their skills, knowledge, and expertise. Beyond their year’s term, awardees will form a cohort and be invited to continue to support those who come after them.
“Investing in early-career professionals is one of the most powerful and lasting contributions we can make to ocean conservation. The future of our ocean depends on empowering the next generation with the knowledge, networks, and confidence to lead.”
Minna Epps, IUCN Global Ocean Policy Director
Kristina gratefully acknowledges the close collaboration of fellow Steering Committee members, Dr Harriet Harden Davies of the Ocean Voices Programme, and Dr Diva Amon of SpeSeas in Trinidad and Tobago, in envisioning and giving substance to the Award.
“Kristina Gjerde is a longstanding champion for including early career ocean professionals in international ocean governance processes, she encourages and uplifts others to engage in scholarship and diplomacy, and this award is a testament to the importance of including the next generation to care for the connected ocean,” says Harriet Harden Davies.
The nomination process
Kristina with the DOSI delegation to the UN BBNJ Agreement negotiations in New York. Image © Kristina Gjerde
Nominations for the award will come from civil society groups, academia, and other institutions with which Kristina has worked over the last three decades, many of which will also support the awardees with mentorship and other opportunities to help build the next intergenerational cohort of ocean leaders.
After nominations, potential awardees will be invited to submit applications, but there will not be an open call for applications.
The nominations will then be considered by the selection committee, made up of marine experts from an array of disciplines and representatives of Kristina and her family. It is expected that at least two awards will be made each year.
Kristina with her husband, Adam de Sola Pool, and son, Darius Pool, who are both members of the award steering committee. Image © Kristina Gjerde
Aligning with the Ocean Programme
Given Synchronicity Earth’s long-term support of Kristina’s work, and the aim of our Ocean Programme to protect overlooked marine ecosystems such as the high and deep seas, our team has been delighted to partner with Kristina and her family in setting up this award.
Given our recent commitment to supporting young leaders through the Chrysalis Youth Fund, the aim of the award to uplift early career conservationists is an opportunity to further incorporate this into our Ocean Programme.
In addition to providing advice and input into the design and implementation of the award, the grants issued through the award will be hosted by the Neptune Endowment, a mechanism used to maximise the impact of long-term support for marine conservation.
“Having the opportunity to host this important award is a great honour and we look forward to being part of this effort to engage, support and celebrate the next generation of ocean stewards and marine scientists,” said Anna Heath, Senior Programmes Manager. Anna has led Synchronicity Earth’s work on high seas and deep seas research and conservation for over ten years and will support the awardees in years to come.
The Ocean Stewardship Award identifies and empowers the next generation of ocean leaders, with a focus on protecting the high and deep seas.
It builds on the legacy of Kristina Gjerde, ensuring that knowledge, networks, and expertise are passed to future stewards.
Learn more about the Ocean Stewardship Award, or follow Synchronicity Earth on social media and email to receive updates.
