Ocean projects and governance systems abound globally— everything from offshore energy to coastal aquaculture and fishing treaties — yet there is no standardized way to measure how equitable they are. Now researchers have developed an Ocean Equity Index that seeks to address that gap. The index, released alongside a study in the journal Nature on Jan. 28, is designed to measure the equity of ocean initiatives based on 12 criteria and can be used by governments, companies and community or Indigenous groups. “Inequality is on the rise,” Jessica Blythe, an associate professor of environmental sustainability at Brock University in Canada and lead author of the study, said in a video accompanying the index’s release. “A handful of corporations are generating billions in profit while marginalized [communities] are excluded from management decisions that affect them.” The study was authored by 27 researchers from institutions around the world. They write that the index aims to help marine ecosystems and coastal communities achieve “better outcomes” when it comes to ocean initiatives. “Once we start tracking equity, we’re going to see big changes,” Blythe said. The “conceptual framework” of the Ocean Equity Index. The researchers who developed the index focused on three core types of equity: recognitional, procedural and distributional. For each type, they named two principles, and for each principle, two criteria, resulting in the 12 criteria that are scored in the index and which can be seen in the circle’s outer layer. Image courtesy of Blythe et al. (2026). Economic activity in…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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