Headline: Conference: Ocean Governance for Sustainability

The subject of governing oceanic systems and coastlines is moving into the center of European strategic and sustainability interests. Yet, it suffers from a high degree of fragmentation and the lack of a cross-scalar approach to addressing prevailing policy shortcomings. The COST Action “Ocean Governance for Sustainability - Challenges, Options and the Role of Science - OceanGov” comprises a vision and a series of approaches that inform research and future policy directions on crosscutting sustainability-driven issues related to the fragmented governance framework of oceans, seas and coastlines within regional and open ocean waters in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The COST Action is a transdisciplinary network of 58 actors, initiated among others by the IASS. It provides much-needed input to researchers and policymakers on cross-cutting, sustainability-driven issues.

The conference therefore aims at conceptualising “Ocean Governance for Sustainability” by looking at the realities and practices of ocean governance in the following six thematic fields:

• Land-Sea Interactions

• Area-based Management

• Seabed Resource Management

• Nutrition Security and Food Systems

• Ocean Climate and Acidification

• Fisheries Governance

In addition, the here to be found ocean governance practices, as well as their underlying structures and discourses, will form the empirical basis for a conceptual panel on theoretically grounded discourses in relation to Ocean and coastal governance crosscutting diverse conceptual approaches such as Interactive Governance Theory, Evolutionary Governance Theory, together with Social-Ecological Systems analyses. The conference will end with a policy-level podium discussion with the aim of further advancing policy-practice considerations on Ocean Governance for Sustainability within the context of European Union policy-making. The public panel will comprise representatives spanning the EU Commission, national-level policy making, and civil society. The focus of this conference is the governance of the oceans, from multiple approaches and varied disciplinary traditions, illustrating empirical and/or conceptual contributions around Europe.

Conference „Ocean Governance for Sustainability“

When?  6-8 March, 2017
Where? Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research and House of Science, Bremen

E-Mail: dks [at] leibniz-zmt [dot] de

www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/ca/CA15217

More information and programme details.

Programme of the public science-policy podium discussion