Regional Dialogue 12. Beyond GDP of the Sea 2.0

Ocean accounts support decision-making, but conventional data still poorly represent many cultural, social, and distributional values. These include customary tenure, cultural attachment to place, unpaid and informal work, and future generations’ interests.

Session 12 returns to the questions raised in Session 5. Beyond GDP of the Sea: Capturing Social and Cultural Values in Ocean Governance. It looks at how these dimensions can be reflected in ocean accounts in ways that influence real decisions, from marine spatial planning and social protection to blue finance and climate safeguards.

Session 12: Beyond GDP of the Sea 2.0: Cultural, Gender and Justice Dimensions in Ocean Data
📅 13 November 2026, 14:00 Kuala Lumpur / Manila | 17:00 Sydney.
📍 Online via Zoom.

Guest Speakers

• Dr Nabila Nur Septiani is an Environmental Economist and Marine Conservation Economics Specialist whose work applies economic approaches to marine conservation and sustainable natural resource management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Resource and Environmental Economics from IPB University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management. At the Fisheries Resource Center of Indonesia (FRCI), Nabila contributes to research on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), cost-benefit analysis, ocean accounts, and ecosystem services valuation. Her work integrates ecological, economic, and social considerations to support evidence-based conservation policy and fisheries management.
• Prof Decibel V. Faustino-Eslava is a Professor, Dean, and Scientist at the School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. A geologist by training, her research spans environmental science, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation. Her work includes the environmental management of mineralized watersheds, sustainable sediment management, and the development of early warning systems for rainfall-induced landslides and debris flows in the Philippines. She also leads the national Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) programme, which develops technology-driven agricultural monitoring and advisory systems to strengthen climate resilience.
• Dr Arnica D. Mortillero is the Natural Capital Accounting Section Head and Assistant Division Chief within the ECAN Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS), Philippines. Her work focuses on natural capital accounting, ecosystem services monitoring, and environmental policy to support sustainable resource management in Palawan. She serves as the project focal for the Seascapes and Marine Ecosystem Services Accounting and Valuation in West-Offshore Palawan (SEAWORTH) Project, which supports the development of ocean accounts and marine ecosystem valuation. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.