2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy to Honor Singapore Ambassador Rena Lee and IUCN Senior High Seas Advisor Kristina Maria Gjerde for Remarkable Contributions to Ocean Conservation

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At a time when unprecedented marine heat waves warm 40 percent of the oceans, and much life at sea is endangered, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to recognize two distinguished women for their leadership negotiating the world’s first legal agreement to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas. The 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy will be jointly awarded to Singapore’s Ambassador for International Law, Rena Lee, and Senior High Seas Advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Kristina Maria Gjerde. Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde will receive the prestigious Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy in recognition of their unwavering commitment to ocean conservation and their instrumental roles in advancing the 2023 UN Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

“Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde are exceptionally worthy Laureates for the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Policy,” said Horace E. Anderson Jr., Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and President of the Haub Award Jury. “Their diplomatic leadership has provided a much-needed environmental legal framework for the high seas, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface outside of the sovereignty of all nations. The BBNJ Agreement provides a new focus for safeguarding the ocean’s resources. It comes just in time and is a uniquely important contribution to international environmental law.”

The BBNJ Agreement provides a new focus for safeguarding the ocean’s resources. It comes just in time and is a uniquely important contribution to international environmental law.

Ambassador Lee’s career in international law spans over three decades, covering a range of international law subjects, including international human rights and humanitarian law and disarmament law, with a focus on the law of the seas, environmental law, and climate change law. Since joining the Singapore public service in 1992, she has served in a variety of significant roles including with the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and now as the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. A pivotal figure in international marine conservation, within these roles, she has had significant contributions and influence on global ocean policy and conservation efforts. As Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and the Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, she was elected as President of the Intergovernmental Conference on an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marina Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in 2018. Ambassador Lee's leadership in the Conference was crucial in forging this landmark treaty (BBNJ Agreement). The BBNJ Agreement has been heralded as a major achievement in multilateral diplomacy and cooperation. It establishes the legal and institutional framework for sharing the benefits of marine genetic resources derived from areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), conducting environmental impact assessments, creating large-scale marine protected areas, and enabling all States to participate in these processes as part of a global collaborative effort to safeguard the ecological and scientific treasures of these vast ocean areas beyond national boundaries.

Kristina Maria 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.

Described as one of the biggest conservation victories ever, the BBNJ Agreement seeks to foster global stewardship of the world ocean currently and for the future, to protect the marine environment, to responsibly use the international waters, and to maintain and foster the undersea ecosystems while conserving their biological diversity. The BBNJ Agreement will also inherently address climate change impacts related to the degradation of the world ocean and ecosystems by working towards and providing an ocean governance framework for building institutional and ecological resilience in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Pace University Trustee and environmental advocate, Liliane Haub, a member of the Haub Award Jury, expressed her admiration for the laureates: “The dedication and achievements of Ambassador Lee and Professor Gjerde are truly inspiring. Their work in ocean conservation is critical for the sustainability of our planet's marine resources and ecosystems. The scientific and diplomatic leadership of these joint laureates has made a tremendous contribution toward attaining the UN’s goal to set aside 30 percent of the High Seas as protected areas by 2030.”

The Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy is the world’s most prestigious award in the field of environmental law. The Award has a distinguished history since 1979 shaped by progress in the field of environmental law and policy, and through collaborations with the Universite libre du Bruxelles and the International Council of Environmental Law. In 2016, the Family of Elisabeth Haub and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University established the award as it is known today to honor Elisabeth Haub (1899–1977), a noted philanthropist and advocate for strong laws for the conservation of nature. Chosen annually by an esteemed jury, the Award recognizes the innovation, skill, and accomplishments of lawyers, diplomats, international civil servants and other advocates who work to create the world environmental order. In 2023, the Haub Award was given to Ambassador Marja Lehto (Finland) and Ambassador Marie Jacobsson (Sweden) in recognition of their pivotal roles advancing environmental law and policy to protect the environment in times of armed conflict.

The ceremony for the 2024 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy honoring Ambassador Rena Lee and Kristina Maria Gjerde will take place on Thursday, October 24 at 6:15 p.m. EST in New York City and be broadcast virtually. Register to attend