Faith-based diplomacy at COP17: How Anglican advocacy for ocean justice exposes colonial debt in global biodiversity finance
Original framing: “Anglicans will advocate to protect oceans as 'lungs of the Earth' at the United Nations Biodiversity COP17” — bing news
The headline silences **small island states** like **Tuvalu**, where sea-level rise threatens **100% of arable land**, yet their COP demands for **loss and damage funding** are met with Northern resistance. **Fisherwomen in Senegal** report that **plastic pollution** has reduced catch sizes by 40% since 2010, but their testimonies are absent from Anglican statements. The **2021 *Women in Oceanography* report** found that **women make up only 12% of marine policy decision-makers**, despite managing 80% of coastal fisheries. Anglican women leaders, like **Archbishop Barbara Haley of the Episcopal Church**, could amplify these voices but are excluded from COP17’s negotiating tables.
The Anglican delegation’s COP17 advocacy exposes a **structural contradiction**: while they invoke moral language of 'justice' and 'protection,' their framing erases the **colonial debt** that underpins modern ocean governance.
The **metaphor of 'lungs'**—a passive, Western biomedical analogy—conceals the **active exploitation** enabled by **UNCLOS’s weak enforcement**, where **former colonial powers** still control **70% of deep-sea mining licenses** while **Indigenous guardians** are sidelined. Historical patterns, from the **Atlantic slave trade’s ecological devastation** to the **2007 Caribbean Climate Fund’s rejection**, show that **faith-based diplomacy** alone cannot dismantle the **power imbalances** that define marine conservation. The **trickster’s role** here is to reveal how **Anglican moral suasion** functions as a **distraction**—while **corporate lobbyists** (e.g., **Shell, Thai Union**) push for **deep-sea drilling** in side events, the delegation’s **white robes and hymns** perform **innocence** without addressing the **material reparations** needed. **Solution pathways** must therefore **decolonize ocean science**, **fund Indigenous co-management**, and **litigate corporate accountability**—not just pray for the sea’s health.