Graduate School of Oceanography Annual Report for FY2016

Annual report for the Graduate School Oceanography of the University of Rhode Island for the 2016 fiscal year. Includes research projects by faculty and students, biographies of new faculty, events on the Bay campus and program development and list of donor

Sea@shore: informational governance in marine spatial conflicts at the North Sea

Oceans and seas seem to be an empty space and untouched wilderness, but are in fact heavily used and exploited by different economic activities which have, to greater or lesser extent, environmental impacts. Attention for marine environmental challenges has grown, and is nowadays captured by views on ecosystem-based management. This builds on the notion that the way forward in marine ecosystem protection is an integrated approach that is place- or area-based (so-called spatial turn) and should use the best available scientific information. This research focuses on this spatial turn in marine governance at the North Sea, one of the busiest seas in the world. More specifically, the emphasis on the informational governance of spatial tensions between nature conservation and economic activities at the North Sea. Informational governance points to the growing centrality of informational processes in decision-making around environmental challenges. Information is seen as an indispensable resource to use in resolving such challenges and serves as steering tool in governing sustainability. Information provision through all kind of (online) media means is deliberately aimed at influencing decision-making and fostering change of behaviour. In the marine context, informational governance seems to be a new and promising mode of governance. Facilitated by information and communication technologies, information can connect spatially distant environmental issues to people’s daily lives. However, information is not seen as an unproblematic and neutral object, it is at the centre of struggles and debates in decision-making on resolving spatial and environmental challenges at sea. This study analyzes how public and private actors through informational governance (try to) resolve spatial conflicts between economic activities and nature conservation at the North Sea, in order to better understand the centripetal force of information in marine governance. Three research questions are guiding the research: How can the centrality of information in the spatial turn in marine governance be conceptualized and analyzed? Which actors are involved in informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use at the North Sea, and how do they (inter-) act in informational processes? How does informational governance contribute to the solving of spatial conflicts between economic activities and nature conservation at the North Sea? Chapter 2 gives an account of the research methodology that underpins the research. It explains that the study draws on a non-radical constructivist and critical realist perspective, and presents the research design used in the study: a qualitative case study approach. The selection of the cases has been based on two different rationales. Two cases were selected as they highlight the role of three main actor groups in informational governance at sea. Two other cases explore informational processes in governance arrangements with regard to a specific spatial conflict between marine ecosystem conservation and use(fisheries and offshore wind power development) . In the study, triangulated data gathering served to strengthen the validity and reliability of the research. The mix of methods employed included document review of research reports, policy documents and online information; semi-structured interviews; and participatory observation in several meetings and conferences. In data analysis, an iterative approach following the theoretical propositions of the research was used. In Chapter 3, the marine scaping framework is presented to analyse informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use. Marine scaping through information follows the morphogenetic approach and combines a focus on conditions structuring informational processes with an agency-based approach. The framework distinguishes three scapes that together form the structure-side: seascape, humanscape and mindscape. Seascape represents the connection between the biophysical specifics of the marine ecosystem and the material features of economic activities that are emplaced in this ecosystem. Humanscape points to human organization in social, political and economic terms. Mindscape brings in the ideational dimension, and refers to discourses, ideas, norms, values and perceptions. In the interplay of humanscape with seascape and mindscape, the connection with agency is made, pointing to the initiatives and interactions between actors who, by means of information, strive for sustainability at the North Sea. To assess whether conditions have changed over time, so- called elaboration is added to the framework. In marine governance, the explicit aim is to strive for a balance between ecosystem protection and use, hence to foster elaboration. Chapter 3 illustrates the application of the marine scaping framework by a case study about informational initiatives of eNGO officials who want to push the development of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) at the North Sea forward, in order to achieve “ecological coherence” in marine conservation on the North Sea. It is indicated how and why officials from environmental non-gouvernmental organizations (eNGOs) carried out extensive science-based studies to inform policy-making. This information remains however footloose, because there was no institutional setting where the specific need for a MPA network was (high) on the agenda, and as such, eNGOs had no opportunity to tap their reports into existing informational processes. At the same time, this case study shows how eNGOs build up their so-called “informational capital”. The case study presented in Chapter 4 provides a historical understanding of informational interactions between science and policy in the Dutch MPA site selection. By establishing MPAs, nature conservation gains literally a place on the North Sea map. Following international regulations and treaties, North Sea countries are obliged to take the leading role in the designation process, and to use scientific criteria only, based on biological and ecological information. The chapter shows that information about vulnerable and pristine habitats and sea life that needs to be protected was merely lacking or contested. It becomes evident that ecological , socio-economic and political considerations cannot be easily separated. Scientists and policy-makers dealt with the entanglement of interests by sharing tasks in the informational processes, being both information providers and users. It is found that especially in cases of uncertainties and data gaps, judgment by scientists is best characterized as expert judgment and sometimes even gut feeling. However, it is also highlighted that it is necessary to keep science as impartial as possible, and to overtly communicate what and whose information is used. Chapter 5 analyses the role of information in incorporating the habitat impact of bottom touching gear in the certification scheme of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This represents a spatial conflict between one of the oldest maritime activities at the North Sea, (plaice) fisheries, and marine conservation. The global MSC labeling program is probably the most famous example of informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use, as it is almost 20 years old. It fits in neatly with the ideas of informational governance: scientific information to assess the environmental performance of a fishery clash with information derived from the fishery itself and stakeholders. And at the same time, information about the fisheries' performance (through the logo on a fish product) is brought to consumers who in turn can reward sustainable fisheries through their buying power. This case study indicates how eNGOs use informational capital in the informational struggles . This role became especially evident during the assessment of the first North Sea plaice fishery, when WWF started to negotiate information with fishermen beyond the formal MSC assessment procedure in order to creating so-called ‘no take-zones’. The eNGO made sure that informal interactions were not totally disconnected from the assessment process. According to this case study, the two fisheries who agreed on the spatial measure also tried to get most out of the additional spatial measure that became part of their certification. They took the spatial measure up in their message towards (potential) clients, stating their fisheries go even beyond the high sustainability standards of MSC. The case study in Chapter 6 concerns informational processes related to the ecological impacts of an economic newcomer at the North Sea, that is offshore wind energy. The chapter highlights how the sustainability promise of this renewable source appears to be ‘dark green’: offshore wind farms (OWFs) contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and to the protection of certain marine life (benthos, fish and some bird species). Remarkably, the ecological differentiation towards offshore wind power remains unexploited. Powerful actors related to this pro-wind discourse, such as the wind sector and large eNGOs, are hesitant to use the dark green message of offshore wind power. In onshore wind debates, their emphasis is on the dominant ‘pro-wind’ discourse about combating climate change which leaves no room for (nuanced) spatial and ecological concerns. It is however stated that including the ecological merits of OWFs in an (existing) informational governance design would not be very complicated, and allows actors to commonly strive for further differentiation in the European electricity market. The last chapter recapitulates the general findings of the research. The conclusions suggest that a broad array of actors is involved in informational processes that relate to marine governance and push for more sustainability at the North Sea. These actors can take up five distinctive roles in informational processes, that of information negotiator, information authority, information manager, information verifier and information mediator. This role division might be established in a formal way, although often there is room for actors to take up different roles, sometimes only temporally or informally. The conclusions also point to the theoretical contribution of this research to the theoretical development of informational governance, most notably the lessons learnt from its application to the marine context. The methodological reflections indicate the generalizability of the findings, which are in this research linked to the development of the marine scaping framework and the empirically informed distinction between the five roles of actors in informational governance. Finally, the concluding chapter highlights opportunities for future research, such as studies of informational governance related to other economic activities at the North Sea or in other parts of the world. Oceans and seas seem to be an empty space and untouched wilderness, but are in fact heavily used and exploited by different economic activities which have, to greater or lesser extent, environmental impacts. Attention for marine environmental challenges has grown, and is nowadays captured by views on ecosystem-based management. This builds on the notion that the way forward in marine ecosystem protection is an integrated approach that is place- or area-based (so-called spatial turn) and should use the best available scientific information. This research focuses on this spatial turn in marine governance at the North Sea, one of the busiest seas in the world. More specifically, the emphasis on the informational governance of spatial tensions between nature conservation and economic activities at the North Sea. Informational governance points to the growing centrality of informational processes in decision-making around environmental challenges. Information is seen as an indispensable resource to use in resolving such challenges and serves as steering tool in governing sustainability. Information provision through all kind of (online) media means is deliberately aimed at influencing decision-making and fostering change of behaviour. In the marine context, informational governance seems to be a new and promising mode of governance. Facilitated by information and communication technologies, information can connect spatially distant environmental issues to people’s daily lives. However, information is not seen as an unproblematic and neutral object, it is at the centre of struggles and debates in decision-making on resolving spatial and environmental challenges at sea. This study analyzes how public and private actors through informational governance (try to) resolve spatial conflicts between economic activities and nature conservation at the North Sea, in order to better understand the centripetal force of information in marine governance. Three research questions are guiding the research: How can the centrality of information in the spatial turn in marine governance be conceptualized and analyzed? Which actors are involved in informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use at the North Sea, and how do they (inter-) act in informational processes? How does informational governance contribute to the solving of spatial conflicts between economic activities and nature conservation at the North Sea? Chapter 2 gives an account of the research methodology that underpins the research. It explains that the study draws on a non-radical constructivist and critical realist perspective, and presents the research design used in the study: a qualitative case study approach. The selection of the cases has been based on two different rationales. Two cases were selected as they highlight the role of three main actor groups in informational governance at sea. Two other cases explore informational processes in governance arrangements with regard to a specific spatial conflict between marine ecosystem conservation and use(fisheries and offshore wind power development) . In the study, triangulated data gathering served to strengthen the validity and reliability of the research. The mix of methods employed included document review of research reports, policy documents and online information; semi-structured interviews; and participatory observation in several meetings and conferences. In data analysis, an iterative approach following the theoretical propositions of the research was used. In Chapter 3, the marine scaping framework is presented to analyse informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use. Marine scaping through information follows the morphogenetic approach and combines a focus on conditions structuring informational processes with an agency-based approach. The framework distinguishes three scapes that together form the structure-side: seascape, humanscape and mindscape. Seascape represents the connection between the biophysical specifics of the marine ecosystem and the material features of economic activities that are emplaced in this ecosystem. Humanscape points to human organization in social, political and economic terms. Mindscape brings in the ideational dimension, and refers to discourses, ideas, norms, values and perceptions. In the interplay of humanscape with seascape and mindscape, the connection with agency is made, pointing to the initiatives and interactions between actors who, by means of information, strive for sustainability at the North Sea. To assess whether conditions have changed over time, so- called elaboration is added to the framework. In marine governance, the explicit aim is to strive for a balance between ecosystem protection and use, hence to foster elaboration. Chapter 3 illustrates the application of the marine scaping framework by a case study about informational initiatives of eNGO officials who want to push the development of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) at the North Sea forward, in order to achieve “ecological coherence” in marine conservation on the North Sea. It is indicated how and why officials from environmental non-gouvernmental organizations (eNGOs) carried out extensive science-based studies to inform policy-making. This information remains however footloose, because there was no institutional setting where the specific need for a MPA network was (high) on the agenda, and as such, eNGOs had no opportunity to tap their reports into existing informational processes. At the same time, this case study shows how eNGOs build up their so-called “informational capital”. The case study presented in Chapter 4 provides a historical understanding of informational interactions between science and policy in the Dutch MPA site selection. By establishing MPAs, nature conservation gains literally a place on the North Sea map. Following international regulations and treaties, North Sea countries are obliged to take the leading role in the designation process, and to use scientific criteria only, based on biological and ecological information. The chapter shows that information about vulnerable and pristine habitats and sea life that needs to be protected was merely lacking or contested. It becomes evident that ecological , socio-economic and political considerations cannot be easily separated. Scientists and policy-makers dealt with the entanglement of interests by sharing tasks in the informational processes, being both information providers and users. It is found that especially in cases of uncertainties and data gaps, judgment by scientists is best characterized as expert judgment and sometimes even gut feeling. However, it is also highlighted that it is necessary to keep science as impartial as possible, and to overtly communicate what and whose information is used. Chapter 5 analyses the role of information in incorporating the habitat impact of bottom touching gear in the certification scheme of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This represents a spatial conflict between one of the oldest maritime activities at the North Sea, (plaice) fisheries, and marine conservation. The global MSC labeling program is probably the most famous example of informational governance on marine ecosystem protection and use, as it is almost 20 years old. It fits in neatly with the ideas of informational governance: scientific information to assess the environmental performance of a fishery clash with information derived from the fishery itself and stakeholders. And at the same time, information about the fisheries' performance (through the logo on a fish product) is brought to consumers who in turn can reward sustainable fisheries through their buying power. This case study indicates how eNGOs use informational capital in the informational struggles . This role became especially evident during the assessment of the first North Sea plaice fishery, when WWF started to negotiate information with fishermen beyond the formal MSC assessment procedure in order to creating so-called ‘no take-zones’. The eNGO made sure that informal interactions were not totally disconnected from the assessment process. According to this case study, the two fisheries who agreed on the spatial measure also tried to get most out of the additional spatial measure that became part of their certification. They took the spatial measure up in their message towards (potential) clients, stating their fisheries go even beyond the high sustainability standards of MSC. The case study in Chapter 6 concerns informational processes related to the ecological impacts of an economic newcomer at the North Sea, that is offshore wind energy. The chapter highlights how the sustainability promise of this renewable source appears to be ‘dark green’: offshore wind farms (OWFs) contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and to the protection of certain marine life (benthos, fish and some bird species). Remarkably, the ecological differentiation towards offshore wind power remains unexploited. Powerful actors related to this pro-wind discourse, such as the wind sector and large eNGOs, are hesitant to use the dark green message of offshore wind power. In onshore wind debates, their emphasis is on the dominant ‘pro-wind’ discourse about combating climate change which leaves no room for (nuanced) spatial and ecological concerns. It is however stated that including the ecological merits of OWFs in an (existing) informational governance design would not be very complicated, and allows actors to commonly strive for further differentiation in the European electricity market. The last chapter recapitulates the general findings of the research. The conclusions suggest that a broad array of actors is involved in informational processes that relate to marine governance and push for more sustainability at the North Sea. These actors can take up five distinctive roles in informational processes, that of information negotiator, information authority, information manager, information verifier and information mediator. This role division might be established in a formal way, although often there is room for actors to take up different roles, sometimes only temporally or informally. The conclusions also point to the theoretical contribution of this research to the theoretical development of informational governance, most notably the lessons learnt from its application to the marine context. The methodological reflections in

How Can Conservation Help? Using Land Conservation to Address Other Economic and Social Issues

2007 Berkely Workshop Summary and Background Materials Pocantico Conference Center, Tarrytown, New York, June 8-10, 2007 Hosted by the Land Trust Alliance and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studie

Midwest

The Midwest is home to over 60 million people, and its active economy represents 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product. The region is probably best known for agricultural production. Increases in growingseason temperature in the Midwest are projected to be the largest contributing factor to declines in the productivity of U.S. agriculture. Increases in humidity in spring through mid-century are expected to increase rainfall, which will increase the potential for soil erosion and further reduce planting-season workdays due to waterlogged soil

Volume 52-1 Complete Issue

Volume 52-1 Complete Issu

Public participation in marine spatial planning in Iceland

As the global climate is changing dramatically, Northern communities are facing a multitude of challenges including changing weather patterns, sea level rise and invasive species. To cope with the recent climatic changes - many of which present great uncertainties to livelihoods - strategies should be developed to plan and adapt for the future. Iceland has recently launched marine spatial planning (MSP) endeavours, and two of the first planning processes have been conducted. MSP presents opportunities for authorities, stakeholders, and the public to come together to forge a sustainable path ahead for marine areas that are under increasing pressure from human activities. MSP aims at ecosystem-based management of ocean resources that brings different stakeholders and the public together to discuss their conflicts of interest and forge a sustainable path forward. Public participation is a crucial element of MSP to make it democratically legitimate and sustainable in the long-term. However, MSP comes with its own considerable challenges as it attempts to engage stakeholders and the general public in decisions about an ‘invisible’ space largely beneath the surface of the sea. MSP was formally introduced by law in Iceland in 2018 and two projects were initiated in the Westfjords and Eastfjords in 2019, with one further planned in Skjálfandi Bay. This dissertation explores MSP in Iceland in three research articles. In paper I, the uncertainties of the environmental changes in the Westfjords are explored in conjunction with the multitude of societal challenges to coastal and marine planning in Iceland. Data from the planning documents as well as from semi-structured interviews and a workshop conducted in the Westfjords are analysed and discussed to establish how environmental changes and the societal context set the scene for Icelandic MSP. To assess the scope and depth of public participation in the Icelandic MSP process, paper II presents data that was collected through participant observation, unstructured and semi- structured interviews (n=80) and document analysis in the three case studies. The results show that a limited group of people including institutional actors and formal stakeholders had been engaged in the information gathering stages of the process, but in the later phases of discussion and decision-making, local community members were notably absent. This lack of public participation highlights the need for more in-depth communication about the MSP process and marine issues in the adjacent communities as well as an urgent need for inclusion of the public into marine decision-making and MSP. Whereas marine spatial planning is new to Iceland, coastal zone planning (CZP) is well established in Norway. Paper III investigates how participation in coastal and marine planning viii processes compare between Iceland and Norway, and what lessons can be shared between them. Data was collected in two case studies in the Tromsø region in Norway and the Westfjords of Iceland through analysis of planning documentation, literature review and semi-structured interviews. The results show that public participation is formally integral to both processes, but in practice varies considerably. Both planning processes are driven by the expansion of the aquaculture industry and a variety of issues faced during the planning process are similar. However, divergent frameworks of the planning processes result in major differences between the implementations and their implications for local communities. In Norway, public participation is politically desired and guided by a participation strategy, emphasising synergies between expert and local knowledge. In the Tromsø region, meaningful public participation varied across the involved municipalities and issues regarding indigenous participation remain. In Iceland, there is little evident political expectation of public engagement, and the process is characterised by a passive approach to participation that aims to inform the public but does not include wider sharing of decision-making power

Managing Fish or Governing Fisheries? An Historical Recount of Marine Resources Governance in the Context of Latin America – The Ecuadorian Case

The narratives and images about ocean and its resources governance, their use and value have deep roots in human history. Traditionally, the contemporary images of fish and fisheries have been shaped under the cultural construction of power, wealth and exclusion, and also as one of poverty and marginalization. This perception was formed on early notions of natural (marine) resources access and use that were born within the colonial machinery that ruled the world from the Middle Ages until late XVII. This research explores the historical overview of marine resources usage and governance in Latin America, from a ‘critical approach to development’ perspective, by following a narrative description based on a ‘three acts’ format. It illustrates how and to what extent politics, power and knowledge have deeply influenced policies and practices at exploring the marine and terrestrial resources and at managing fish and seafood, historically, and how the fisheries resources’ management practices are influenced by principles of appropriation, regulation and usage, put in place already in the XV century that were imposed at the conquering and colonization of the Americas, disregarded previous governance practices. This article argues that fisheries governance cannot be improved without some appreciation for the social, historical, geopolitical, and cultural significance of the fishing resources themselves, of the perceptions of them by humans, and of the interactions Global North-Global South. The analysis also opens the dialogue about what kind of ocean and governance “science” we want, to support decisions, policies and practices regarding fisheries governance. Final thoughts highlight a reflection about whose knowledge is created and used to support decision and policy making in Ecuador

Investigating climate change intervention strategies in opencast mining contracting and plant hire companies: a case of mutual construction company group of companies, South Africa

Climate change has come to be understood as a deleterious phenomenon, which threatens business, society and ecological systems, thus making it imperative to understand its impact on human, social and economic activities as well as the impact of these activities on climate change. Against this background, this research sought to determine climate change intervention strategies in the mining supply chain in general, specifically focussing on opencast mining contracting and plant hire companies’ practices. This focus on the mining industry was driven by its importance in South Africa and globally, despite its significant direct and indirect contribution to climatic changes. The mixed-methods multiple case study focused on the climate change management of the Mutual Construction Company Group of Companies (MCCGC), an open cast toll mining firm and equipment supplier. Limited to two sites, Pilanesberg Platinum Mines (PPM) and Tharisa Minerals (Tharisa) Mines, the researcher gathered data through interviews, questionnaires, observations and document review. Data was analysed through deductive content analysis. The research made three major findings: (i) the MCCGC, like its principals PPM and Tharisa, does not have an explicit climate change management strategy. Instead, climate change is managed indirectly through implicit strategies seeking to manage environment, health and safety concerns of the mines, (ii) as a contractor, the MCCGC has had to adopt PPM and Tharisa’s implicit approach to climate change management strategies to meet contractual obligations, instead of an explicit approach and, (iii) the MCCGC and its principals’ commitment to environment, health and safety management, and implicitly climate change management, is not mere rhetoric but is being put into practice. The research concluded that MCCGC’s lack of expressed climate change management intentions and practices exposed the firm to climate change risks, most notably financial risks and reputation risks. Financial risks arise from possible ex post climate change liability. In addition, MCCGC is risking its contract tenures, particularly if the two mines change ownership and the new owners insist on an explicit rather than implied climate change strategy with all its suppliers. Reputational risks arise from the possible failure to attract new clientele and investors who may perceive MCCGC as a risky partner, due to an inept climate change intervention strategyCollege of Agriculture and Environmental SciencesM. Sc. (Environmental Management