Marine biodiversity research is a rapidly emerging field at the intersection between ocean science and environmental studies, dominated by the natural sciences. However, growing environmental concerns and expanding human interests in diverse aspects of marine biodiversity, including its protection and sustainable use, open new avenues for social science research. This has seen the emergence of the nascent field of the marine social sciences, which are taking hold of and reshaping focus on the marine realm. So far, however, the marine social sciences have focused predominantly on coasts and the relationship between people and the oceans but less on marine biodiversity and its governance. Despite growing cross-disciplinary interest in this newly emerging field, there is let to be a forum that convenes and collates different ways of thinking about marine biodiversity governance critically and in one place. Yet, a critical perspective that problematizes the institutional, political, socio-economic, and legal frameworks within which marine biodiversity governance is taking shape is arguably much needed to avoid some of the pitfalls of how we have known and governed the ocean in the past.
This Research Topic aims to provide a forum for scholarship interested in diverse material, geographical, political, ontological and epistemological aspects of marine biodiversity governance. Our objective is to go beyond conventional views and encourage critical perspectives on how marine biodiversity is governed globally, regionally, at different policy-making levels, in various maritime zones and ocean areas, vertically, horizontally, and across boundaries. We do so by problematizing linear understandings of ocean governance (where processes and practices of governing are understood to straightforwardly result in societial and environmental change) and by furthermore troubling the expectations that social science research should predominantly ‘fix’ environmental problems by translating natural science findings into policy recommendations and readily available solutions. Thus, we aim to provide a forum for researchers interested in marine biodiversity governance beyond ‘institutional fixes’ and open up a debate on new emerging issues within the field of marine biodiversity governance that need critical social science perspectives.
This research topic seeks to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue among social scientists, including sociologists (including topics such as mobilities studies), political scientists (including perspectives from political theory, IR and development studies), anthropologists, political ecologists, human geographers, and scholars from the science and technology studies (STS) and the social and historical studies of science. We are especially interested in research addressing new emerging issues within the field of marine biodiversity governance, including critical perspectives on:
- Politics of data/data portals/digital aspects
- Infrastructure (mapping, monitoring, surveillance, energy networks)
- Negotiations/International Organisations/Agreements/Conventions
- Ontologies/Epistemologies of governance approaches (species/invasive species governance; alien ocean, microbial governance, Marine Protected Areas and Area-Based Management Tools, marine genetic resources )
- Science-policy interrelation/ Knowledge politics
- Geopolitical aspects/Controversies/Conflicts/Territoriality/Sovereignty
- Blue economy/political economy/extractive industries
- Politics of conservation /sustainable use (Nature/culture/and the 'Anthropocene')
Marine biodiversity research is a rapidly emerging field at the intersection between ocean science and environmental studies, dominated by the natural sciences. However, growing environmental concerns and expanding human interests in diverse aspects of marine biodiversity, including its protection and sustainable use, open new avenues for social science research. This has seen the emergence of the nascent field of the marine social sciences, which are taking hold of and reshaping focus on the marine realm. So far, however, the marine social sciences have focused predominantly on coasts and the relationship between people and the oceans but less on marine biodiversity and its governance. Despite growing cross-disciplinary interest in this newly emerging field, there is let to be a forum that convenes and collates different ways of thinking about marine biodiversity governance critically and in one place. Yet, a critical perspective that problematizes the institutional, political, socio-economic, and legal frameworks within which marine biodiversity governance is taking shape is arguably much needed to avoid some of the pitfalls of how we have known and governed the ocean in the past.
This Research Topic aims to provide a forum for scholarship interested in diverse material, geographical, political, ontological and epistemological aspects of marine biodiversity governance. Our objective is to go beyond conventional views and encourage critical perspectives on how marine biodiversity is governed globally, regionally, at different policy-making levels, in various maritime zones and ocean areas, vertically, horizontally, and across boundaries. We do so by problematizing linear understandings of ocean governance (where processes and practices of governing are understood to straightforwardly result in societial and environmental change) and by furthermore troubling the expectations that social science research should predominantly ‘fix’ environmental problems by translating natural science findings into policy recommendations and readily available solutions. Thus, we aim to provide a forum for researchers interested in marine biodiversity governance beyond ‘institutional fixes’ and open up a debate on new emerging issues within the field of marine biodiversity governance that need critical social science perspectives.
This research topic seeks to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue among social scientists, including sociologists (including topics such as mobilities studies), political scientists (including perspectives from political theory, IR and development studies), anthropologists, political ecologists, human geographers, and scholars from the science and technology studies (STS) and the social and historical studies of science. We are especially interested in research addressing new emerging issues within the field of marine biodiversity governance, including critical perspectives on:
- Politics of data/data portals/digital aspects
- Infrastructure (mapping, monitoring, surveillance, energy networks)
- Negotiations/International Organisations/Agreements/Conventions
- Ontologies/Epistemologies of governance approaches (species/invasive species governance; alien ocean, microbial governance, Marine Protected Areas and Area-Based Management Tools, marine genetic resources )
- Science-policy interrelation/ Knowledge politics
- Geopolitical aspects/Controversies/Conflicts/Territoriality/Sovereignty
- Blue economy/political economy/extractive industries
- Politics of conservation /sustainable use (Nature/culture/and the 'Anthropocene')