Ocean Collaborations

We talk constantly about regenerating the ocean - but who is regenerating the people doing the work?In my very first solo episode, I step behind the mic to get honest about ocean conference exhaustion, superficial networking, and change leader burnout.
How do we move from passive panels to transformative retreats and radical collaboration?
Tune in to Episode 37 for an intimate reflection on creating sanctuaries for impact, inner resilience, and what’s next for Ocean Collaborations in 2027.
If my collaboration invitation of this episode speaks to you, don’t hesitate to reach out: info@janmaisenbacher.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janmaisenbacher/
More information about me: https://janmaisenbacher.com/en/about-jan-maisenbacher


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What if marine conservation began not with another boundary on a map, but with a question: who has lived with this ocean, and what do they already know?
In this new episode of Ocean Collaborations, Jan Maisenbacher speaks with Ihirau Piton, a 23-year-old Tahitian anthropology student and Pacific youth leader. His starting point is disarmingly clear: “Protecting the ocean cannot come without protecting the people.”
Ihirau takes us inside Tiaki Moana, a 2025 gathering that brought young people from across Oceania to French Polynesia to explore conservation beyond the usual marine protected area model. The conversations happened in an amphitheatre, on the beach, and long after the formal programme ended. The point was not only to exchange ideas, but to rebuild relationships across an ocean that connects communities often kept apart.
You’ll hear about rāhui: a Polynesian practice of temporarily restricting the use of a resource so it can recover. It is not a conservation “toolkit” to copy and paste. It belongs to a living cultural context -and raises a bigger question for all of us working in ocean regeneration: can policies succeed when they treat local people as an afterthought?
This is also an honest conversation about deep-sea mining, industrial fishing, colonial legacies, tourism, and the uneasy gap between protecting nature in principle and making a living in practice.
For anyone trying to build collaboration that is courageous, locally grounded and more than blue blah blah, this episode offers a needed reset.
Listen now - and stay with the question Ihirau leaves us with: what changes when we understand the ocean not as a place apart, but as part of who we are?
This is the third episode resulting from the media partnership with “One Ocean Science Congress” which happened in Nice 2025. Here are the other two episodes:#27 Alice Guittard: Advancing a Sustainable Blue Economy in the Black Sea
#24 Jorge Ramirez: Participatory Ocean Science on GalapagosYou are managing an ocean conference? Looking for a fitting media partner? Get in touch & let’s collaborate! info@janmaisenbacher.com

Linklist:
* Ihirau Piton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ihirau-piton-83827a285/
* Blue Cradle Projectpage: https://bluecradle.org/tiaki-moana
* Tiaki Moana Report: https://bluecradle.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Tiaki-Moana-Report.pdf
* Video Teaser (youtube): Guardians of the Ocean (watch it on Substack):
* Longer cinema documentary: (n.a. currently)



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If you’ve spent any time in the corporate or NGO world, you know the “incremental” trap. We celebrate 2% gains while the system we’re trying to save is heading South at 100mph.
My guest Clare Brook reached that breaking point in 2014. After 24 years in sustainable finance-pioneering ESG before it was a buzzword - she realized that moving the dial “gradually” through investor engagement wasn’t just slow; it was running out of time. She didn’t just want to nudge the needle; she wanted to change the instrument.
Today, as CEO of Blue Marine Foundation, she leads one of Europe’s most ambitious marine conservation groups. In the latest episode of the Ocean Collaborations podcast, Clare breaks down what it actually looks like to lead transformational - not just incremental- change in our waters.
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We often talk about the goal: 30% of the ocean protected by 2030 (the “30x30”). But Clare focuses on the how. At Blue Marine, they use what she calls the “Octopus” model. It’s a structure where the body drives projects across 30 countries, while eight distinct “tentacles” - from investigations and legal action to economics and media -work simultaneously to unlock systemic change.
One of the fascinating parts of our conversation was the “Regeneration Generation” initiative in the Caribbean. We often see conservation as a cost, but Clare is reframing Marine-Protected Areas (MPAs) as a virtuous cycle. It’s about solving “brain drain” by creating high-tech, purpose-driven livelihoods for the next generation - drone operators, data scientists, and educators - built on the foundation of a healthy reef. The job topic in MPA’s reminded me of the episode #33 I had around social entrepeneurship with Wietse Van Der Werf from Sea Ranger Service (listen here).
If you’re frustrated by political apathy or the David vs. Goliath reality of standing up to industrial overfishing, this episode is the shot of courage you need.
Clare discusses the short-termism of political cycles and why we need a “social contract with nature” that outlasts the next election.
Curious about how to build a change coalition that actually moves the needle?
Listen to the full episode on Substack (Spotify, or Apple Podcasts).
Here’s the link to the mentioned youtube video:“The Bottom Line with Stephen Fry and Theo James”
Jan met Clare Brook in Nice 2025 during the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3)
Add-on about the social contract with nature :
We talked how we can get back in touch with nature and ways how to interact with animals. As mentioned from Jan here are two links to recent solutions that decode animal voices:
Project CETI: https://listen.projectceti.org/
Earth Species Project: https://earthspecies.org/
Clare Brook on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarebluemarine/
Blue Marine Foundation Webpage: https://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/
On Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/bluemarinefoundation



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I grew up in a small german village, deeply rooted in the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. For around ten years in my childhood the church wasn’t just a building; it was the heartbeat of our community - a place where faith translated into collective action and a shared moral compass.
Fast forward to my first major ocean conference in Nice in June 2025. Amidst the sterile policy halls and the data-heavy slides, I stumbled upon a movement that connected those childhood roots to my current mission: the campaign Faiths for Oceans and their multifaith declaration on ocean protection. It was a “lightbulb” moment. I realized that if we are to save 70% of our planet, we can’t just rely on cold data and multilateralism; we need a theory of change that touches the human heart and soul.
In this week’s episode of Ocean Collaborations, I sit down with a man who has lived this intersection for over five decades: Arthur Dahl.
At 84, Arthur is a living bridge between the scientific and the spiritual. A marine biologist who dove the world’s most pristine reefs in the 1970s, he became a titan of UN environmental governance, contributing to every major summit from Stockholm (1972) to Rio (1992). But Arthur isn’t here to talk about the “good old days.”
He is here to tell us why the UN, in its current form, is failing the ocean.
A radical “Second UN Charter” to avoid institutional breakdown
Arthur knows the UN system inside out, and his diagnosis is bold. He argues we are stuck in a “Sovereignty Trap.” The UN is built on national borders, but the ocean knows none. While politicians remain trapped in economic frameworks that prioritize short-term GDP, the biological foundations of our world - like the coral reefs Arthur spent his life studying - are collapsing.
His solution? A radical “Second UN Charter” that moves beyond voluntary agreements toward true global accountability.
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Faith as a Theory of Change for Ocean Collaboration
Arthur’s secret to resilience is what he calls the harmony of science and religion. As President of the International Environment Forum and a member of the Baha’i faith, he views the ocean as a system reflecting a higher human purpose. He shares profound stories from the Pacific, where indigenous wisdom and spiritual logic created “perfect fisheries management” long before global policy existed.
If you are a professional frustrated by institutional inertia, this episode is your antidote. We explore how faith can be the “connecting pin” between science, politics, and the bold, courageous collaborations required for ocean regeneration.
Listen to the full episode to hear why Arthur believes the “cries of the ocean” will finally force our institutions to transform - and how you can be part of that shift.
Learn more about his amazing ocean life in this article he wrote in the news magazine of the International Coral Reef Society: From Reef Science to Reef Actionhttps://coralreefs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/REEF-ENCOUNTER-APRIL-2026-FINAL_lores.pdf

Arthur Dahl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurdahl
International Environment Forum: https://iefworld.org/
Faiths for the Oceans campaign: https://www.oceans.faith/
Get in touch with Jan Maisenbacher to heart/brain/soulstorm how Faith as a theory of change could become a practice of change for ocean collaborations. Book your slot with Jan on calendly here: https://www.calendly.com/janmaisenbacher



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Are you tired of attending yet another high-level environmental summit only to walk away feeling like you just witnessed another round of “blue blue blah blah”? For those of us working towards blue regenerative societies the gap between ambitious political declarations and real-world execution can be a source of frustration. We know what needs to be done, yet institutional inertia (and non- collaborative dialogue) continue to slow our progress.
In episode #33 host and experienced conference designer Jan Maisenbacher sits down with Meaghan Cuddy, manager of the Our Ocean Conference secretariat at the World Resources Institute.
Together, they pull back the curtain on how to design a high-stakes global forum for actual impact, rather than empty rhetoric. Having organized conferences himself, Jan brings a unique conference-design lens to the conversation, questioning why commitments are not more deeply integrated into the actual panel setups and session agendas to break the passive “panel talk” bubble.
Unlike standard UN processes, the Our Ocean Conference is an invite-only platform designed without diplomatic negotiations. Its sole objective is mobilising and tracking concrete conservation pledges.
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This brings us to the core impact piece: what happens after the applause fades? Meaghan shares the rigorous “detective work” her small team conducts year-round to track every single commitment. Listeners will discover the surprising data behind these pledges, including the reality of the eighty percent that are completed or in progress, and the systemic challenges behind the twenty percent that fail to launch.
From Kenya’s historic one-billion-dollar commitment to transboundary marine protection, to the grassroots power of the Mombasa Declaration on fisheries transparency, this episode is a blueprint for impactful change.
If you are ready to explore how strategic meeting design can bridge the gap between policy and execution, while learning how to build resilient leadership that avoids burnout, this conversation is for you. Tune in to discover how we can break our sector’s echo chamber, engage critical decision-makers in finance and trade, and turn empty talk into measurable ocean action.

Connect with Meaghan Cuddy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meaghancuddy/
Links:Our Ocean Conference (OOC) Kenya: https://ouroceankenya.com/
OOC Commitment Tracker: https://commitments.ouroceanconference.org/login/World Ressources Institute Ocean Program:https://www.wri.org/ocean
Learn how Jan Maisenbacher can help to make your conference more impactful, collaborative and regenerative : https://janmaisenbacher.com/en/magicprojects/



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