Presented by Dr Sarah Coulthard, University of Ulster

Tuesday 8^th November 2011 6-7:45pm

Talk (free entry) and post seminar dinner (by registration only)

http://www.zsl.org/science/events/shallow-seas,552,EV.html

Conflicts between the exploitation and protection of shallow seas are perhaps at their most extreme in the developing world, where large numbers of poor people are directly dependent upon access to the sea for their daily survival and pursuit of a better life. High levels of demand for easily accessible, but highly fragile, in-shore resources, necessitates effective policies that can regulate access and ensure sustainable use. However, policies are often hindered by inadequate understanding of the complex ways in which access to marine resources relates to people’s wellbeing. Income and livelihoods are an obvious benefit from resource exploitation, but there are also important social and cultural factors that influence and motivate how people use the sea. A growing number of scholars are starting to use the concept of wellbeing as a more holistic approach to understand the connections between people and their marine environment, recognizing that human behaviour is shaped by a range of different factors that span material and subjective domains. This talk draws from case studies across the developing world to explore the relationship between access to the sea and human wellbeing. For each case, we will discuss how different forms of marine conservation policy affect that relationship, and implications for the workability of those policies. A challenge for effective marine conservation is whether it can engage more with the strategies people adopt to improve their lives in the present day, whilst promoting sustainable behaviour and healthy seas for future generations. The talk concludes with some interesting examples of what could be considered as ‘successful’ forms of marine governance from India, and points to how those processes have tapped into ‘what matters most’ to the people involved. Both examples are driven by communities themselves, often with strong civil society support.

Suggested readings:

Coulthard, S., Johnson, D and J.A. McGregor (2011). Poverty, Sustainability and Human Wellbeing: A Social Wellbeing Approach to the Global Fisheries Crisis. Global Environmental Change 21:453–463

McGregor, J.A. (2004). Researching Wellbeing: Communicating between the Needs of Policy Makers and the Needs of People. Global Social Policy 4(3): 337-358.

V Vivekanandan 2010. Trawl Brawl India – Sri Lanka trans-border fishing. Samudra report 57. Available online:

http://wif.icsf.net/icsf2006/uploads/publications/samudra/pdf/english/issue_57/art07.pdf

Working papers at www.wellcoast.org

View Paper Here

The project hosts its second meeting at the World Fish HQ in Penang in June 2010, which includes a 4-day field consultation to Tam Giang lagoon, Vietnam.

For more details contact:
Derek Johnson, University of Manitoba: johnso39@cc.umanitoba.ca

Further details to be posted here shortly.

Dangerous Ideas in Development: challenging orthodoxies and promoting fresh thinking on international development

‘Conservation and Poverty Reduction: Conflict or Sustainable Governance of Fisheries in Developing Countries’

Speakers: Prof Allister McGregor, IDS; Vivekanandan, South Indian Federation of Fisherman Societies
Chair: David Borrow MP

5-7pm

Committee Room 18, Palace of Westminster

Global Fisheries are in crisis. Some scientists predict that if the current levels of fishing effort continue then we will witness the loss of a number valuable species over the next fifty years. At the same time many poor people in developing countries depend on fisheries for their living and the diets of many others are dependent on the rich source of protein that fish represent. It is clear that fisheries ecosystems must be better governed if conservation goals are to be achieved but so far the record of successful fisheries management in developing countries is not good. Moreover in many cases the burden of fisheries management controls fall unevenly and unjustly on some of the poorest fishers. This discussion will explore what might be needed to build more sustainable policy and governance for fisheries in developing countries.

To reserve your place email Charlie Matthews: c.matthews@ids.ac.uk.

Listen to Professor Allister McGregor’s and Mr V.Vivekanandan’s presentations from last nights event at Parliament. Simply click on the links below;

Professor Allister McGregor’s presentation

Mr V.Vivekanandan’s presentation

This partnership combines £27m of DFID’s development research funding together with £13·5m of UK research council funding. This unique partnership will deliver research that is both developmentally relevant and scientifically excellent.

ESPA aims to deliver high quality and cutting-edge research that will improve our understanding of ecosystems in terms of the services they provide for poverty reduction and inclusive growth processes. It will provide the evidence and tools to enable decision makers and end users to manage ecosystems sustainably and in a way that contributes to poverty reduction.

DFID, NERC and ESRC have come together under the Living With Environmental Change partnership, and ESPA presents a unique opportunity to build a strong link between the natural, social and economic sciences and international development.

The two-year process to design the programme and strengthen research capacity is completed and full details of the ESPA scope and implementation plan have been ratified by all the partners in the below ESPA Programme Memorandum document.

ESPA Programme Memorandum Document

ESPA will be governed by a Programme Executive Board consisting of the three funders (DFID, NERC and ESRC). ESPA will be supported by an ESPA Directorate that will manage the research portfolio and a cross-portfolio programme covering knowledge sharing, research into use, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building. Expressions of interest to supply the directorate function will be issued shortly.

ESPA will be delivered through a series of competitive calls for a range of research activities, including research into use and capacity building.

The first call for proposals is now available.

View Workshop 3 Report

Dangerous Ideas in Development: challenging orthodoxies and promoting fresh thinking on international development

‘Conservation and Poverty Reduction: Conflict or Sustainable Governance of Fisheries in Developing Countries’

Speakers: Prof Allister McGregor, IDS; Vivekanandan, South Indian Federation of Fisherman Societies
Chair: David Borrow MP

5-7pm

Committee Room 18, Palace of Westminster

Global Fisheries are in crisis. Some scientists predict that if the current levels of fishing effort continue then we will witness the loss of a number valuable species over the next fifty years. At the same time many poor people in developing countries depend on fisheries for their living and the diets of many others are dependent on the rich source of protein that fish represent. It is clear that fisheries ecosystems must be better governed if conservation goals are to be achieved but so far the record of successful fisheries management in developing countries is not good. Moreover in many cases the burden of fisheries management controls fall unevenly and unjustly on some of the poorest fishers. This discussion will explore what might be needed to build more sustainable policy and governance for fisheries in developing countries.

To reserve your place email Charlie Matthews: c.matthews@ids.ac.uk.

View ‘Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy’