Prof. David Johnson BSc MSc PhD FRGS

David Johnson is a Director of Seascape Consultants Ltd (https://www.seascapeconsultants.co.uk), an Emeritus Professor of Coastal and Ocean Management at the UK Southampton Solent University and an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh. He is a chartered geographer and chartered scientist and held a short-term Caird Fellowship at the UK National Maritime Museum in 2002.

David is a global expert working at the interface of marine science and policy and an experienced and influential advisor on policy and public affairs concerning the future of global oceans. He was previously Executive Secretary to the OSPAR Commission (2006-2012) responsible for refocusing the work of the Commission including production of the Quality Status Report 2010 and establishing the world’s first network of Marine Protected Areas in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Seascape Consultants managed the EU FP7 MIDAS project (2013-2016), evaluating environmental impacts of deep-sea mining. In 2016 David led an Article 154 Performance Review of the International Seabed Authority.

Since 2013 he has coordinated the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (http://gobi.org), supporting efforts by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to describe 338 Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas worldwide, and is retained as an adviser to the UNESCO World Heritage Marine Programme. He led the policy work package of the blue growth EU H2020 ATLAS project (2016-2020, https://www.eu-atlas.org ) and has been the North Sea focal point for the EU Maritime Spatial Planning Platform. Currently he is closely involved in both the negotiations for a new International Legally Binding Instrument to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction and the CBD’s post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. In 2017 he was awarded the IMarEST International Award in recognition of actions to help developing countries improve their ability to comply with international rules and standards relating to marine safety and the protection of the environment.