Kristina M. Gjerde '81

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Kristina Maria Gjerde '81 is one of two distinguished women recognized by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University for their leadership negotiating the world’s first legal agreement to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas. Along with Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law, Rena Lee, Gjerde, senior high seas adviser to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will receive the 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy in recognition of unwavering commitment to ocean conservation and their instrumental roles in advancing the 2023 UN Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

From the press release:

Gjerde has dedicated nearly 40 years to advancing public international law relating to the marine environment. Her expertise encompasses ocean governance, shipping, fishing and deep seabed mining, driven by a passion for advancing the role of science and scientists to improve marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Gjerde’s visionary work through IUCN in conceptualizing the need for and potential content of a potential BBNJ Agreement in the early 2000s led to the establishment of several key initiatives, including the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, the Sargasso Sea Project and the High Seas Alliance. She also served on the executive planning group of the UN Decade of Ocean Science.

In addition to Gjerde’s role with IUCN, Gjerde is an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, an honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh, a Pew Marine Fellow and formerly a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Policy Center Fellow. Gjerde sits on the Schmidt Ocean Institute Advisory Board and has co-authored over 200 publications, collaborating with leading ocean scientists and legal scholars with a focus on marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable use in ABNJ. Her efforts have significantly contributed to the progressive development of marine law and policy, exemplified by her vital role in catalyzing early support for the BBNJ Agreement. Her commitment to uplifting early career scholars has enabled new voices from around the world to shape the process. In February 2023, Professor Gjerde received the IUCN World Commission on Protected Area’s Fred Packard Award for her efforts to secure protections in international law for the high seas.

Additionally, Gjerde recently had a new species named after her: a deep sea coral that is new to science has been dubbed "Kanak gjerde."