Taskforce on Ocean Governance

Trade & Globalization

Trade and globalization fuel economic growth, but the costs and benefits are not evenly distributed. For the oceans, increasing affluence from growth means increasing demand for resources from fisheries and mining, expansion of global shipping, pollution, and recreation and tourism, and of course greater exposure to the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, as supply chains get longer and more complex it is more difficult for business, consumers, and policy makers to make informed decisions about their product choices. Labeling schemes and voluntary programs can help in some cases, but they are not a panacea. Members of this cluster examine the effects of trade and globalization on the oceans and coastal communities, but they also explore ways to mitigate the negative impacts of these powerful forces.

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 Leader:

Elizabeth Havice
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA
havice@email.unc.edu

Active Working Groups: