Ocean as the beating heart of the Planet at the IHO-IAG ABLOS Conference.

The role of the Oceans in regulating the balance of the Biosphere is strategic! And not just because 97% of the total water on the planet is salty and contained in there. Issues of primary strategic importance revolve around marine ecosystems, involving governance, diplomacy, security and climate action.

The 12th IHO-IAG ABLOS Conference held in Doha (Qatar) on the 7th and the 8th October 2025, in partnership with the Qatari Standing Committee of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, gathered over 289 international participants to debate on the regulatory framework and some pressing topics by the will of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - UNCLOS.

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), headquartered in Monaco, was on the front line to address relevant insights towards a more regenerative vision of ocean management. Not surprisingly, the Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea - ABLOS - is a joint advisory body established by the IHO and the International Association of Geodesy -IAG. Its advisory and programmatic functions on hydrographic, geodetic, and other technical aspects are functional to UNCLOS, contributing to its evolution to face new challenges.

Hydrography, in fact, plays a crucial role in showing water level observations and forecasting strategic scenarios, through standardised data collection and nautical charts which set foundation to the Law of the Sea, while defining limits and boundaries of action. In this regard, the development of the S-100 framework paves the way for a new technological era based on a multi-layered information including the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.

Rear-Admiral Luigi Sinapi, Director of the International Hydrographic Organization, pointed out: « ABLOS is unique in bringing together hydrographers, geodesists, lawyers, academics and other ocean-stakeholders to ensure that legal provisions under UNCLOS are informed by sound technical interpretation. By uniting science, law, and policy, and by engaging in open dialogue, ABLOS continues to serve as a beacon for the international community ».

Photo >> International delegations attending the 12th IHO-IAG ABLOS Conference held (Doha, Qatar, 7th and the 8th October 2025) © IHO

As a matter of fact, the relationship between Human Communities and the Marine Environment is often a conflict due to pollution and unsustainable exploitation. Human activities, especially those on land, cause pollution from plastics, chemicals and pollutants that end up in the sea, damaging marine wildlife and biodiversity. Just to name one of the issues most at risk. Sea-level rise, caused primarily by global warming, poses a threat to coastal areas, causing erosion, flooding and impacts on tourism, health and migration.

The international Summit aimed to prepare a series of concerted actions to ensure updated global regulations to tackle the new challenges, following up the introduction of high technology like satellite observation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, drones and further devices.

H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al-Hammadi, Chairperson of the Qatari Standing Committee of the

Convention on the Law of the Sea, highlighted: « The ocean is vital for societies. We should change the name of our planet from Planet Earth to Planet Ocean. The ocean provides huge economic opportunities and holds all the resources for sustainable development ».

Photo >> Panel of discussion at the 12th IHO-IAG ABLOS Conference held (Doha, Qatar, 7th and the 8th October 2025) © IHO

The UNCLOS, adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994, represented a fundamental step in the management of international and national maritime spaces.

It is, in fact, a comprehensive international treaty which covers almost all aspects of marine and maritime law, including States' rights and jurisdiction in marine areas concerned, the peaceful use of the oceans, and the management of their resources. 

The increasing underwater scientific and touristic interest in exploration of ocean depths, supported by new-generation technology, are pushing global decision makers to make substantial changes to the text of the agreement, with particular reference to rescue operations, ocean observation, subsea infrastructures, autonomous technologies, and maritime cybersecurity as well as climate crisis. Regulatory gaps affecting these key topics need to be addressed as soon as possible. The most recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice was meant to give greater decision-making flexibility to individual states in order to protect their sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

Dr. Ilaria Tani, from University of Milano-Bicocca, reaffirmed the prior role played by the international Treaty by underlining: « UNCLOS establishes the low-water mark as the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. This line may change due to natural phenomena, and therefore has always been interpreted as being ambulatory, that is, a line that may change with time. However, with sea level rise, costal States will lose land to the sea. This would shift both the baseline and outer limits inwards towards land, e(ectively reducing the maritime territory of States ».

Alice Hicuburundi, Principal legal Advisor of the UN DOALOS/OLA (UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea), concluded: «The Convention provides States with a general legal framework that can evolve as new issues arise — from maritime zone delimitation, supported by IHO standards, to the growing challenges posed by climate change, sea level rise and the resulting shifts in baselines ».” ***

✒️ Maurice Abbati

• Strategic Communication Specialist, Editor in Chief, Journalist, Executive.

• Lecturer and Author in English in the field of Environmental Communication to foster Circular and Blue Economy.