Download - ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

RESEARCHProgram 7: Policy Development, Institutions and Governance of Coral ReefsResearchers• Simon Foale Program Leader• Joshua Cinner Research Fellow• Pedro Fidelman Research Fellow•John Pandolfi• Terry Hughes Research FellowProgram 7, launched in 2009 and led bySenior Research Fellow Simon Foale,addresses the multi-faceted challengesof improving coral reef governance.Because it is people, rather than fish orcoral that must be managed, this multidisciplinaryresearch program coverscultural, political, historical, and economicaspects of coral reef management atmultiple scales. While Program 7’sactivities include a focus on the GreatBarrier Reef, they are global in scope(see press release). In 2009, most ofthe Program’s projects were directedat the rapidly evolving coastal resourcemanagement and governance challengesin the Indo-Pacific region, in particularin Melanesia and the Coral Triangle.Program 7 addresses the global politicaland economic drivers of resource-use atseveral scales, and aims to understandthe cultural, social and politicaldimensions of coral reef tenure systemsand resource use, both contemporaryand historical. Program 7 is alreadyinvolved in capacity-building activities inmany countries, working with NGOs andnational governments.This new program is rapidly rampingup with the recruitment late in 2009of two additional post-doctoral fellowsLouisa Evans and Mike Fabinyi, who willcommence in May 2010. Louisa’s Ph.D.at the University of East Anglia focussedon governance and marine systems inKenya and she is currently a researchfellow at WorldFish in Malaysia. Mikeis an anthropologist currently at theAustralian National University workingon social equity and marine resourceregulation in the Philippines. Thesetwo new recruits will provide a greatergeographic spread of expertise andprojects in Program 7.Other research fellows with a role inProgram 7 include Josh Cinner andPedro Fidelman. In 2009 Josh held aworkshop on fisheries co-managementin La Reunion, gave a keynote talk ongovernance at the Western Indian OceanMarine Science Association (WIOMSA)Conference, participated in a WIOMSAresearch priority-setting round tableon climate change and gave talks at anumber of research institutions in theUSA with governance or policy-relatedthemes. Pedro presented a paper at theEarth System Governance Project (partof the International Human DimensionsProgramme on Global EnvironmentalChange) on the institutional dimensionsof environmental governance, andwas admitted as a fellow of theEarth Systems Governance Project.He also commenced collaborationswith the Stockholm ResilienceCentre on research into governanceof large marine ecosystems, andwith CSIRO and the University ofGeorgia, USA on the institutionaldimensions of climate change.In the Solomon Islands and PapuaNew Guinea, Program 7 is undertakingsocial and ecological research onhow to develop locally relevant andculturally appropriate educationalresources for improving coral reef fisherymanagement. During the latter half of2009, Simon consolidated a productiveworking relationship with key personnelin the Curriculum Development Centre ofthe Department of Education in SolomonIslands. This work with EducationDepartments on high school sciencecurricula addresses the need for trainingin the biology and ecology of over-fishingand reef ecosystem degradation and isessential for the future leaders of thecommunity. Other aspects of this threeyear research project address the social,political and economic aspects of coralreef fishery governance at various levels.In July and August the Centre completeda long-term consultancy with theAusAID-funded Community SectorProgram in Solomon Islands – a programled by Simon Foale, which has providedvaluable research material on communitybasedsustainable development andcapacity building. In October, Simon andcolleagues at the Australian Institute ofMarine Science organised a workshopaddressing the challenge of developingsustainable livelihoods in the Indo-Pacificregion as part of the Global EnvironmentFacility’s International Waters conferencein Cairns.In 2010, Program 7 researchers will hostthree working groups, on sustainableartisanal fisheries (led by Simon Foalein collaboration with WorldFish, inTownsville), trans-boundary governancein the sea (Terry Hughes, in Stockholm),and on legal frameworks for incorporatingecological knowledge (John Pandolfi, inWashington DC).28ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies