MSGID: 1:317/3 64a7952f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Researchers offer a tropical perspective on marine conservation    
    Key to ocean conservation may lie with the tropical majority    
      
     Date:   
         July 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute   
     Summary:   
         To achieve tangible solutions for ocean conservation, a new article   
         suggests that we should listen to the people who are most affected   
         by the current problems facing the ocean: the people in the tropics.   
      
      
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   To achieve tangible solutions for ocean conservation, we should listen   
   to the people who are most affected by the current problems facing the   
   ocean: the people in the tropics, say 25 co-authors of "Engaging the   
   Tropical Majority to Make Ocean Governance and Science more Equitable   
   and Effective," a new paper in the journal Ocean Sustainability, funded   
   by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).   
      
   "We can't really talk about the ocean without talking about nature and   
   humans," said STRI staff scientist and founding director of the Adrienne   
   Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative, Ana Spalding,   
   lead author with marine ecologist and associate professor at Oregon   
   State University (OSU) Kirsten Grorud-Colvert. "Kirsten and I have been   
   working together to bridge those two aspects."  The goal of the paper   
   was to take advantage of the focus on the tropics resulting from the Our   
   Ocean Conference held in Panama in March 2023. Spalding and Grorud-Colvert   
   assembled a group of multidisciplinary researchers from around the global   
   tropics to discuss actionable solutions for ocean conservation. After   
   initial brainstorming meetings on Zoom, they organized an in-person   
   draft-writing workshop with a core group of collaborators in November   
   2022 at STRI's Punta Culebra Nature Center in Panama City, Panama.   
      
   The objective was to discuss how to face the most urgent problems   
   affecting the oceans, particularly in the global tropics. However, instead   
   of focusing solely on the scientific aspect of marine conservation,   
   a common theme during the initial discussions became the inequity in   
   ocean governance and ocean science.   
      
   "The underlying tone was that systemic changes in inequity and access   
   were important," Spalding said. "We still incorporated the more technical   
   science side of things, but that's been written, that's been talked   
   about. We decided to prioritize this issue."  The tropics are home to   
   most of the world's marine biodiversity and the majority of directly   
   ocean-dependent people. But governance of the ocean is still dominated by   
   high-income countries in temperate regions, where most of the scientific   
   knowledge and funding originates. Policies are disproportionately   
   established by policymakers outside of tropical regions.   
      
   "We wanted to acknowledge this inequity from the start, that most of the   
   resources and funding for marine conservation come from temperate regions,   
   and that often leads to those interests co-opting conversations. From   
   there we can move forward, with tropical voices and tropical expertise   
   in the lead," Grorud- Colvert pointed out.   
      
   In the paper, the authors concluded that, to achieve real and tangible   
   solutions for ocean sustainability, there are four key actions to achieve   
   first: equity in ocean science and governance, reconnecting people and   
   the ocean, redefining ocean literacy, and decolonizing ocean science.   
      
   "The paper really highlights that the problem isn't just with the   
   changes to natural ecosystems, fish and mangroves, the problem is the   
   disproportionate impact that those changes have on certain groups of   
   people, particularly around the global tropics. And we're not going to   
   see changes in nature until we see systemic changes in how people in   
   these regions can participate, engage, feel connected to the issues,   
   and feel responsible for these changes," stated Spalding.   
      
   "We need to go beyond talking about the problems to intentionally taking   
   action to address inequities," said co-author Sangeeta Mangubhai, research   
   scientist at Talanoa Consulting, in Fiji. "It is time to value and trust   
   the deep knowledge and understanding of history and place held by those of   
   us in the tropical majority and let us take the lead in those places we   
   call home."  "The conclusion I'd like to focus on is decolonizing ocean   
   science, from who leads, to how it is done. This action is relevant to   
   all scales and dimensions of ocean conservation: from individuals to   
   institutions, theory to practice, and from our youth to our elders,"   
   commented co-author Steven Mana'oakamai Johnson, from the Department of   
   Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University.   
      
   Spalding and Grorud-Colvert committed themselves to creating a space   
   for listening and challenging perspectives and ideas. "We can't find   
   solutions without open and honest and transdisciplinary conversations,   
   and making sure that we are creating spaces for these to happen,"   
   Grorud-Colvert added.   
      
   Despite the different time zones and cultures, the collaborators were   
   surprised to find that their experiences were not very different.   
      
   "It's amazing how shared experiences lead to co-creating solutions for   
   the global tropics. In East Asia and the Pacific and Africa and Latin   
   America, we are all feeling similar things, and we feel validated by   
   the folks from these regions," Spalding said.   
      
   "Amplifying the voice of the tropical majority in ocean science and   
   governance is key to making sure decisions related to the tropics   
   include perspectives from key actors from the tropics," stated co-author   
   Josheena Naggea of the Oceans Department and Center for Ocean Solutions   
   in Stanford University.   
      
   "Current scientific leaders need to realize that scientists in the   
   tropics have been mostly ignored or marginalized for a very long time   
   and we nevertheless are producing essential knowledge, and often in   
   much more equitable ways," said co-author Andre's Cisneros-Montemayor,   
   Deputy Director at Ocean Nexus, and Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser   
   University.   
      
   Researcher and co-author Estradivari, from the Ecology Department at   
   Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Germany, said:   
   "While there are real inequities in ocean governance and science   
   that can have negative effects on ocean conservation, there are also   
   solutions available as long as we value diversity and flexibility and   
   seize opportunities for change."   
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   by Smithsonian_Tropical_Research_Institute. Note: Content may be edited   
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ana K. Spalding, Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Edward H. Allison, Diva   
      J. Amon,   
         Rachel Collin, Asha de Vos, Alan M. Friedlander, Steven Mana'oakamai   
         Johnson, Juan Mayorga, Claire B. Paris, Cinda Scott, Daniel   
         O. Suman, Andre's M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Estradivari, Alfredo   
         Giron-Nava, Georgina G. Gurney, Jean M. Harris, Christina Hicks,   
         Sangeeta Mangubhai, Fiorenza Micheli, Josheena Naggea, David Obura,   
         Juliano Palacios-Abrantes, Angelique Pouponneau, Rebecca Vega   
         Thurber. Engaging the tropical majority to make ocean governance   
         and science more equitable and effective. npj Ocean Sustainability,   
         2023; 2 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s44183-023- 00015-9   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706124611.htm   
      
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