Collaborative Research: Workshop: Strengthening Institutions - Strategies for Cooperative, Ecosystem-based Management in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

This support is for a workshop to be held at the University of Alaska in FY2011, bringing together social scientists, policy makers, government agencies, and local community leaders to explore new models of governance for reducing conflict and improving ecosystem-based management of ocean resources. The workshop has five main objectives: 1) Foster synergy among social scientist of diverse disciplines with diverse theoretical and applied expertise. 2) Bring insights of social science research to the dialog surrounding institutional design for ocean governance. 3) Generate new knowledge and theoretical refinement in the fields of participatory democracy, administrative complexity and ecosystem-based management. 4) Set an agenda for follow-up research. 5) Produce a policy report identifying issues, framing the theoretical principles and criteria for evaluating alternatives for conflict reduction and ecosystem stewardship. The invitees include a strong list of environmental and legal scholars, as well as academicians in the fields of political science, sociology, environmental science, and economics. In addition, community leaders (NSB Mayor and AEWC Chairman), and Federal and State agency personnel (NOAA, DOI, State of Alaska) will be participating. This project will support 19 of the 50 plus participants, as well as the organizational expenses. The workshop addresses the policy questions posed by the Ocean Policy Task Force (2009), applied to the US Arctic, and meets the Environmental Law Institute (2009) prescription for targeted education for state, federal, local and tribal stakeholders. It is all the more timely in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, as issues surrounding community resilience and oil and gas development will no doubt become more contentious. The workshop may inform institutional developments in the wake of that incident.