Taskforce on Ocean Governance

Coastal Communities

Coastal areas and oceans are integral to a diverse array of industries, recreational activities, and subsistence livelihoods, as well as the health of the global ecosystem; and, coastal communities are often the first to perceive and experience changes in ocean quality, and are often the most vulnerable to the negative human impacts on oceans. As such, the activities and participation of coastal communities in governance processes are important for sustainable oceans. In addition to increasing the legitimacy, effectiveness, and efficiency of governance systems, the participation of coastal communities in governance processes is important for the maintenance of livelihoods, preservation of culture and heritage, and hazard and disaster planning, preparation, and recovery. However, participation in and the outcomes of governance processes on the sustainability of coastal communities and oceans are affected by:

• The structure, emergence, and effectiveness (architecture) of oceans governance systems.
• The agency of communities, groups, and representatives with a stake in oceans governance outcomes.
• The adaptiveness of governance systems or communities to inherent uncertainties in natural or human systems.
• The sources and degree of accountability and legitimacy of oceans governance for coastal communities.
• The access and allocation of ocean resources and other benefits and costs of governance outcomes.

Additional factors that affect the involvement and/or effectiveness of coastal communities in oceans governance include:

• Power dynamics and relations internal or external to coastal communities, which may affect the who or how of participation in oceans governance.
• The scale of the issue under consideration, actors involved, and regulatory scope of governance systems. For example, communities with the power to mitigate local pressures on marine systems may not be able to provide solutions when the sources of problems reside elsewhere (e.g. large-scale commercial fishing, transboundary pollution, climate change).
• The convergence or divergence of norms within and across governance systems and communities
• And, the different knowledges involved and/or left out of governance processes.

Members of this cluster work to understand various issues related to oceans governance and coastal communities, such as how coastal communities govern their local resources, how they are affected by issues outside of their control, and what policy makers can do to ensure that oceans governance works for them. We welcome contributions from, including but not limited to: anthropology, demography, economics, geography, law, psychology, political science, and sociology; as well as applied research from development studies, engineering and planning specializations; and natural scientists who have an interest in researching human-environment or social-ecological interactions.

If you’d like to join the cluster, please click here to become a member. This will allow you to post information on the page and give you the opportunity to receive information and updates via the Oceans Taskforce listserve.

While we do not have funding ourselves, we do hope to foster joint projects via Working Groups, which would bring together cluster members to write grant proposals, put together collected volumes/special issues, or develop webinars, workshops, syllabi, or similar products. All projects should focus on the cluster topic and fit within the ESG Science Plan (http://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/research-agenda/). Working group members should come from more than one institution and should have sufficient expertise to accomplish project goals. Forming a working group can help you to expand your professional network. It will also provide mentoring from the cluster leaders and access to logistical support like web-conferencing from ESG headquarters. To submit a Working Group proposal, please fill out this form and send it to the cluster leader(s) listed below. If you’d like to propose a Working Group that fits in more than one cluster, please send it to the leaders of each cluster in a single e-mail. Scroll down for descriptions of active Working Groups.

Cluster Leaders:

Candace May
South Dakota State University
candace.may@sdstate.edu

New Co-Leaders, Info Comming Soon!

 

Active Working Groups: