Ethical Dimensions of Ocean Governance

Exploring the ethical dimensions of ocean governance represents a challenge that has to be addressed with care, especially for those like us, who are not professional philosophers. When Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Ambassador Arvid Pardo, and others used the concept of ‘common heritage of mankind’1 to advocate for the approval of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea2 (unclos), the ethical background was not explicitly analyzed in detail although it is evident that the core of the concept is absolutely linked with moral philosophy. We briefly examine the core concept of the common heritage in relation to the general understanding of ethics. According to unesco,