WP leader
Andrea Morf
As the expansion of the blue economy is inevitable, exclusivity of marine uses or conservation thus will not suffice as the governance approach to existing and new human activities in the marine domain. Still, human activities and their impact have to remain within the carrying capacity of the ecosystems that maintain our livelihoods, hence the need to shift from blue growth to a sustainable blue economy, from exclusive use and single purpose to multi use, and from end-of-pipe to circular. Good governance in general entails the principles of legitimacy, transparency, accountability, human rights, rule of law, and inclusiveness (OECD, 2015). Ocean ecosystem governance has an added dimension of complexity as diverse (sectoral) human activities in a given (offshore) ecosystem must be coordinated and managed towards a common outcome, i.e., a resilient and sustainable ecosystem. Moreover, adaptive management requires close interaction among 1) monitoring activities and hence the advances in the technology pillar; 2) research and knowledge production activities, including those in the open science pillar; and 3) the application of new insights and knowledge in current management practices. This pillar therefore closely collaborates with the other two and draws on existing theory, practice and emerging insights related to participatory governance and adaptive management. It will also advance these and formulate recommendations based on social science research in the LivingLabs.
The purpose of WP3 is to implement the C2B2 top down approach by exploring how the ocean governance can ensure viable marine ecosystems in view of expanding offshore industries, by reimagining ocean governance, moving from single-use, single-sector practices towards truly integrative, multifunctional ecosystem-based governance. The specific objectives are:
- To analyse the current state-of-affairs in ocean governance at multiple levels
- To identify crucial international marine spatial planning out-of-the-box tools
- To co-create transition scenarios for a better blue that are adapted to the Swedish context
- To generate recommendations for the future governance of the blue economy in a changing climate.