The Ocean Dependence Framework Places People at the Center of Ocean Governance

April 9, 2026 — Coastal communities are living on the frontline of accelerating and overlapping change. Climate change is destabilizing the marine and coastal environments they depend on. Increasing pollution compounds this pressure and directly threatens their health. Food insecurity is rising.

In response, nations are transforming how they manage their coastlines — developing sustainable ocean economies, designating marine protected areas and pursuing climate adaptation strategies. Coastal communities sit at the center of all of it: not only are they the most exposed to mounting pressures and most directly impacted by the policies designed to address them, but they are also the very people whose knowledge, livelihoods and stewardship are essential to making these transitions work.

Whether coastal communities benefit from these transitions or bear their costs depends on the choices made while designing the policies. Policies that protect marine ecosystems, grow blue economies or respond to climate change can deliver real benefits to coastal communities by securing affordable food, protecting local jobs and strengthening resilience. But these same policies can also inadvertently deepen the vulnerabilities communities already face — cutting off access to fishing grounds they have relied on for generations, displacing small-scale traders in favor of commercial operators or undermining the adaptive strategies communities have already developed.

The difference between these outcomes often depends on the information available to decision-makers. While ecosystems can be mapped and economic flows can be tracked, the human dimension — who depends on the ocean, how and what they stand to gain or lose — is rarely visible to policymakers. Closing this gap will help advance conservation, development and climate goals while delivering meaningful improvements to the lives of coastal communities.

The Ocean Dependence Framework

Recognizing this opportunity, WRI developed the Ocean Dependence Framework — a decision-support tool that helps policymakers and planners put people at the center of ocean governance. Built in direct partnership with local communities and informed by experts across academia, government and development, the Ocean Dependence Framework measures three key dimensions:

1. Exposure — the changes affecting marine resources or access to them.
2. Dependence — the nutritional, economic and cultural reliance on those resources.
3. Adaptive capacity — the ability to respond when resources change or access is disrupted.

Taken together, these dimensions reveal which groups face the greatest impacts from changes affecting coastal communities — whether driven by climate change, marine conservation, blue economy growth or other pressures. Critically, they also explain why certain groups face disproportionate impacts, and where targeted interventions can reduce inequalities and direct benefits for those who depend on the ocean most.

In partnership with organizations at local and global scales, WRI is advancing this framework to help governments integrate people into data-driven ocean policy and planning — equipping policymakers and planners to harness local knowledge, evaluate trade-offs across policy options and design interventions that advance a more just ocean economy.

Proof of Concept: Mapping Ocean Dependence in Mozambique

In Inhambane Bay, located in southern Mozambique,  WRI partnered with Ocean Revolution Mozambique and AfriSeas Solutions, with support from the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership, to bring the framework to life. The team developed locally-adapted indicators and piloted community-based methods to gather structured, spatially-linked data directly from fishers. For example, participatory mapping exercises enabled community members to map where they had witnessed changes in their local ecosystems, such as mangrove loss or seagrass degradation. They also mapped where they fish and what they catch.

To measure dependence, fishers were asked to distribute a handful of objects (like rocks or beans) across photos of local marine and terrestrial resources, placing more on the resources that matter most to them. This exercise was repeated multiple times for benefits like income, food, cultural traditions and social networks — with larger piles signaling greater contributions from that resource.

The results were striking. Maps revealed widespread seagrass loss across the bay, but more importantly, by layering fishing areas and dependence data with these ecological changes,  the team pinpointed exactly which communities and fisher groups face the steepest threats to their income, food security and socio-cultural values as seagrass meadows decline.

Armed with this data, local planners can prioritize seagrass conservation and restoration in the areas where it will matter most. Critically, it informs not just where to act, but how — taking into account the ways communities depend on these areas, and ensuring conservation goes hand in hand with supporting people's livelihoods and capacity to adapt.

From Pilot to Policy: Building Social Dimensions into National Ocean Data

To transform ocean management at scale, this approach needs to be institutionalized and embedded within the tools decision-makers are already using. It also needs to be spread to new geographies. That's why WRI is partnering with the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, to integrate social data into the frameworks governments already use to track ocean health and economic value.

Ocean Accounts are comprehensive national information systems that move beyond traditional GDP-based metrics to measure the full contribution of oceans to economic activity and societal well-being. Although recognized as fundamental, the social component of these accounts — known as Social Accounts — remains under-developed, leaving this essential dimension unmeasured.

To help change this, WRI, in collaboration with GOAP, recently developed a data audit methodology that countries can use as a first step to compile social data within the ocean accounting framework. Using the method, WRI led an analysis of national social data systems across eight countries. The findings were encouraging: Foundational social data already exists and household surveys, fisheries statistics and agricultural censuses capture elements of ocean-related livelihoods, income and nutrition. But critical gaps remain in the ability to disaggregate data across groups in society, and key dimensions like cultural connections and local knowledge are largely invisible in official statistics. Fortunately, emerging methodologies, like the Ocean Dependence Framework, can provide critical insights to address these gaps.

As part of the co-organizing committee for Social Accounts Working Group, WRI along with GOAP and many other members, are developing practical guidance to harness existing data and these emerging methodologies. Together, the group is working to create and pilot standardized approaches for compiling and collecting social indicators that can feed directly into Ocean Accounts. When complete, governments will have the tools to track not just ocean economies and ocean health, but the wellbeing of the communities who depend on them — making it possible to design ocean management that works for both people and the ocean. 

Join Us

The Ocean Dependence Framework is only as powerful as the partnerships that adapt, iterate and implement it. WRI is actively seeking collaborators to advance people-centered ocean governance:

• Apply the Framework: Partner with WRI to pilot or adapt the Ocean Dependence Framework in your country or project — from marine spatial planning and fisheries management to restoration and climate adaptation. Working together combines methodological support with local expertise to generate the evidence base needed for equitable and durable ocean solutions.
• Contribute data and expertise: Share datasets, indicators or community-based methods that capture how people depend on and contribute to the ocean. Feedback on the conceptual approach is equally welcome — the framework improves through diverse perspectives and geographies.
• Join the Social Accounts Working Group: Connect with researchers, government officials and civil society organizations working to embed social and cultural dimensions into ocean accounting frameworks, and help shape the guidance governments can use.

To learn more about WRI’s Ocean Dependence Framework, partner with us or for additional inquiries, contact Rachel Thoms at [email protected].