Taskforce on Ocean Governance

Shipping

International shipping is one of the oldest transnational industries and is crucial to sustain our global economy as it transports 90% of all goods and materials. International shipping has tripled in the amount of goods it transports since the 1980s and this growth is expected to continue in the future as well. This has also increased the pressure on the marine environment generated by oil, sewage, chemical and waste discharges, the use of fossil fuels and associated air and greenhouse gas emissions, and the discharge of (alien) species and organisms through ballast water. The UN based International Maritime Organization (IMO) has drafted more than 50 Conventions to Ensure save and sustainable shipping, including multiple that regulate these emissions and discharges. However, implementation and enforcement of IMO’s measures remains challenging. The footloose sector is difficult to monitor and enforce. In addition, the industry itself is only slowly moving forward when it comes to adopting a proactive attitude towards environmental issues and regulation. While the IMO continues to play a key role in the environmental governance of shipping, private governance initiatives are increasingly emerging through which ports and cargo-owners try to put pressure on the industry to become more ambitious and proactive.

This cluster aims to bring together scholars and research projects that investigate current challenges and trends in the sustainability of shipping, including the politics and decision-making at IMO, the emergence of private governance and corporate social responsibility in the shipping sector, the use and role of technological innovation in sustainable transitions within this sector, and value chain dynamics and actors that influence shipping sustainability. Potential linkages exist with the Recreation & Tourism cluster through a shared interest in cruise shipping and tourism; with Trade & Globalization when considering the role of shipping in facilitating international trade and the global economy; with Blue Economy as one of the growing maritime economic sectors; and with Pollution and Climate Change because shipping contributes to pollution and climate change through various discharges and emissions.

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:

Judith van Leeuwen
Wageningen University, Netherlands
judith.vanleeuwen@wur.nl

Active Working Groups: