During the present decade, a number of international agreements have been negotiated that are related to the oceans and marine environment, either explicitly or inherently. Examples are the UN-FCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change), the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Global Programme of Action to protect the marine environment against Land Based Activities. In all these oceanography and ocean observations are very important elements, both with respect to the substantive basis and the rationale for agreement and its implementation. Furthermore, science and observations will have to play a major role in establishing the efficiency of the agreement to deal with the issue or the problem it is covering. In addition, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) entered into force in November 1994.

Kullenberg, G. 1997. International policy issues: Oceans. Oceanography 10(3):155–156, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1997.15.

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