Sebastian Unger

Sebastian Unger leads work on Ocean Governance at the IASS. He has a background in biology and political science and 15 years of experience in international ocean policy. His research focuses on global governance processes for ocean sustainability, including the development of a new international agreement for marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the governance of deep seabed mining. Sebastian lectures on marine conservation at Potsdam University. He joined the IASS in 2011 as a scientific coordinator for IASS Founding Director Professor Klaus Töpfer. He was appointed Deputy Secretary to the OSPAR Commission, the international convention for the Protection of the North‐East Atlantic, in 2007. In that role he was instrumental in developing the world's first network of marine protected areas on the 'high seas' and participated in negotiations on new international legislation in the fields of marine biodiversity, impacts of human activities, and the offshore oil and gas industry. He also served at the German Federal Foreign Office, where he coordinated international maritime affairs.