Convened by Taina Goncalves Loureiro, University of Western Australia, and Joleen Steyn Kotze, Human Sciences Research Council

Conventional ocean governance relies heavily on economic and environmental indicators, while overlooking the human dimensions of the ocean, including livelihoods, equity, cultural identity, and resilience. This seed panel will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to explore how methods and metrics can make people count in decision-making and reporting, ensuring that ocean governance is both just and inclusive. The aim is to spark interdisciplinary collaboration and debate pathways for embedding human well-being, rights, and equity into sustainable ocean development. The panel will focus on how measurement frameworks can:

• Evaluate human dependence on ocean services for food, income, health, and well-being.

• Assess distributional equity, examining who benefits and who bears costs across social groups, with a particular focus on Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

• Identify risks and resilience, highlighting vulnerabilities to anthropogenic pressures and environmental change.

• Account for societal assets and conditions, such as education, health, culture, and social cohesion, that shape, and are shaped by, the ocean economy.

• Assess governance impacts, showing how policy and management decisions influence social equity, cultural practices, and community resilience.

The session will explore how social metrics can complement economic and environmental accounts to provide a more holistic picture of sustainable ocean development. I will draw on dimensions such as gender equity, livelihoods, food and nutrition security, poverty, health, Indigenous knowledge, and cultural identity.

Aligned with the conference’s emphasis on (G)local solutions, the panel will explore how globally relevant frameworks (e.g., SDGs, SNA, SEEA) can be grounded in local realities, ensuring that ocean governance is both just and inclusive. Through case studies, methodological innovations, and participatory approaches, the session will explore how to integrate lived experiences, cultural values, and social justice into metrics that shape ocean policy and practice, helping to deliver equitable and sustainable futures where people are at the centre of governance.