| 1. |
- Sumaila, U. Rashid, et al.
(författare)
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WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 374:6567, s. 544-544
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 2. |
- Bebbington, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Shaping nature outcomes in corporate settings
- 2024
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Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - 0962-8436 .- 1471-2970. ; 379:1903
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transnational companies have substantive impacts on nature: a hallmark of living in the Anthropocene. Understanding these impacts through company provision of information is a precursor to holding them accountable for nature outcomes. The effect of increasing disclosures (of varying quality) is predicated on 'information governance', an approach that uses disclosure requirements to drive company behaviour. However, its efficacy is not guaranteed. We argue that three conditions are required before disclosures have the possibility to shape nature outcomes, namely: (1) radical traceability that links company actions to outcomes in particular settings; (2) developing organizational routines, tools and approaches that translate strategic intent to on-the-ground behaviour; and (3) mobilizing and aligning financial actors with corporate nature ambitions. While disclosure is key to each of these conditions, its limits must be taken into account and it must be nested in governance approaches that shape action, not just reporting.This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.
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| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Frida
(författare)
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Navigating Change: Actors, Agency and Leverage in the Seafood Industry
- 2024
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- How to transform systems, what is the role of actors, agency and leverage and how can we stimulate transformations towards sustainability? Negative impacts on ocean health from human activities, combined with a growing understanding of the human relation with, and dependency upon, the ocean have all contributed to a rapidly growing discourse on sustainable seafood. Calls for transformations are now common, and actors in science, among policy makers and by corporations involved in seafood production and distribution actively seek to communicate that they are part of the solution to challenges facing the ocean and the planet, including through voluntary initiatives. In parallel have advances in monitoring technologies generated vast and, in some cases, real-time data sets about vessels at sea, enabling new understanding and scrutiny of such claims and activities by researchers, businesses and civil society organizations. This thesis applies process tracing and descriptive quantitative data analysis to investigate how transformation can happen, and the conditions that enable such processes. First, focus is placed on the inner mechanics and causal actions of voluntary initiatives carried out in the Barents Sea between 1998- 2019 to address responses to illegal fishing and the expansion of bottom trawling into previously unfished waters (Paper I). Second, by collecting and synthesizing new data investigating transshipment, a practice in fisheries which has been repeatedly described as problematic and opaque despite an increasing availability of data, presenting promising entry points for transformation are identified (Paper II). Combined the findings presented in this thesis illustrate a unique perspective of corporate actors engaged in fisheries and can be used by anyone who seeks to interact and engage with the seafood industry. In particular, these cases highlight that in order to change practices, it’s essential to understand actors within the system, how they relate to each other, and how to leverage those relations. While the ocean is no longer entirely "out of sight, out of mind," numerous challenges to achieve sustainable fisheries persist. This thesis, through empirical cases drawn from the seafood industry, transcends disciplinary boundaries, aiming not only to contribute to the academic discourse, but also to address the practical challenges of achieving sustainable fisheries governance in the face of complex challenges. The thesis identifies a number of potential and previously unknown leverage points for system change, while also illustrating how diversity has historically stimulated resilience that support transformative change at the international level.
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| 4. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Aligning fisheries aid with international development targets and goals
- 2018
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Ingår i: Marine Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-597X .- 1872-9460. ; 88, s. 86-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Official development assistance (ODA) is intended to spur progress and increase security among recipient countries. Billions in ODA have been allocated to fisheries to support nutrition and livelihoods worldwide. Yet, from 2010 to 2015, fisheries allocations decreased by > 30%, while grants for non-fisheries sectors increased by > 13%. Globally, grants for climate change adaptation and mitigation fell for fisheries, while rapidly increasing in sectors like agriculture and forestry. In Oceania, a region highly dependent on fisheries for food security and particularly vulnerable to climate change, disbursements fell by 44%. Grants for fisheries research, education and training fell in absolute numbers, and as a proportion of total ODA to fisheries. These findings are out of alignment with recent international commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (2015), The Future We Want (2012), and relevant Aichi Targets (2010). Risk aversion among donors; redirection of climate finance into other sectors; and allocation decisions based on factors unrelated to fisheries are identified as contributing to observed findings. Increasing the volume of fisheries-related ODA and better aligning it with international commitments could bring substantial co-benefits and contribute to the sustainable use of marine ecosystems, support sustainable trade and economic opportunities, increase adaptive capacity, and foster human well-being.
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| 5. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and marine fisheries : Least developed countries top global index of vulnerability
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Future impacts of climate change on marine fisheries have the potential to negatively influence a wide range of socio-economic factors, including food security, livelihoods and public health, and even to reshape development trajectories and spark transboundary conflict. Yet there is considerable variability in the vulnerability of countries around the world to these effects. We calculate a vulnerability index of 147 countries by drawing on the most recent data related to the impacts of climate change on marine fisheries. Building on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change framework for vulnerability, we first construct aggregate indices for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity using 12 primary variables. Seven out of the ten most vulnerable countries on the resulting index are Small Island Developing States, and the top quartile of the index includes countries located in Africa (17), Asia (7), North America and the Caribbean (4) and Oceania (8). More than 87% of least developed countries are found within the top half of the vulnerability index, while the bottom half includes all but one of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member states. This is primarily due to the tremendous variation in countries' adaptive capacity, as no such trends are evident from the exposure or sensitivity indices. A negative correlation exists between vulnerability and per capita carbon emissions, and the clustering of states at different levels of development across the vulnerability index suggests growing barriers to meeting global commitments to reducing inequality, promoting human well-being and ensuring sustainable cities and communities. The index provides a useful tool for prioritizing the allocation of climate finance, as well as activities aimed at capacity building and the transfer of marine technology.
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| 6. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Corporate control and global governance of marine genetic resources
- 2018
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 4:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Who owns ocean biodiversity? This is an increasingly relevant question, given the legal uncertainties associated with the use of genetic resources from areas beyond national jurisdiction, which cover half of the Earth's surface. We accessed 38 million records of genetic sequences associated with patents and created a database of 12,998 sequences extracted from 862 marine species. We identified >1600 sequences from 91 species associated with deepsea and hydrothermal vent systems, reflecting commercial interest in organisms from remote ocean areas, as well as a capacity to collect and use the genes of such species. A single corporation registered 47% of all marine sequences included in gene patents, exceeding the combined share of 220 other companies (37%). Universities and their commercialization partners registered 12%. Actors located or headquartered in 10 countries registered 98% of all patent sequences, and 165 countries were unrepresented. Our findings highlight the importance of inclusive participation by all states in international negotiations and the urgency of clarifying the legal regime around access and benefit sharing of marine genetic resources. We identify a need for greater transparency regarding species provenance, transfer of patent ownership, and activities of corporations with a disproportionate influence over the patenting of marine biodiversity. We suggest that identifying these key actors is a critical step toward encouraging innovation, fostering greater equity, and promoting better ocean stewardship.
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| 7. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Corporations and plastic pollution : Trends in reporting
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Futures. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-1888. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on pathways to reducing plastic pollution often concludes that greater action is needed by the private sector. Yet the private sector is not a monolithic or homogeneous entity. We compiled a novel library of 2,317 corporate reports from the world's 200 largest companies, by revenue, over a ten-year period (2010–2019) and used text mining tools to identify pronounced regional and sectoral variability in the extent to which plastic waste and pollution is of material importance to corporate operations. The results show a dominant focus on recycling, with far less attention to the other stages of the life cycle of plastic. While green clubs have emerged in recent years to mobilize voluntary actions by companies seeking to position themselves as leaders in this context, we see regional and sectoral gaps in green club membership, as well as a tendency for members to be those companies that already had a history of reporting on plastics issues. This analysis provides a starting point for a more nuanced consideration of the private sector's role in addressing plastic pollution, and suggests sectors and regions for prioritization by policymakers and civil society actors seeking to broaden the range of committed corporate actors.
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| 8. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Evolving Perspectives of Stewardship in the Seafood Industry
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humanity has never benefited more from the ocean as a source of food, livelihoods, and well-being, yet on a global scale this has been accompanied by trajectories of degradation and persistent inequity. Awareness of this has spurred policymakers to develop an expanding network of ocean governance instruments, catalyzed civil society pressure on the public and private sector, and motivated engagement by the general public as consumers and constituents. Among local communities, diverse examples of stewardship have rested on the foundation of care, knowledge and agency. But does an analog for stewardship exist in the context of globally active multinational corporations? Here, we consider the seafood industry and its efforts to navigate this new reality through private governance. We examine paradigmatic events in the history of the sustainable seafood movement, from seafood boycotts in the 1970s through to the emergence of certification measures, benchmarks, and diverse voluntary environmental programs. We note four dimensions of stewardship in which efforts by actors within the seafood industry have aligned with theoretical concepts of stewardship, which we describe as (1) moving beyond compliance, (2) taking a systems perspective, (3) living with uncertainty, and (4) understanding humans as embedded elements of the biosphere. In conclusion, we identify emerging stewardship challenges for the seafood industry and suggest the urgent need to embrace a broader notion of ocean stewardship that extends beyond seafood.
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| 9. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Promoting diversity and inclusiveness in seafood certification and ecolabelling : Prospects for Asia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Marine Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-597X .- 1872-9460. ; 85, s. 42-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Building on the inputs by a range of experts who participated in the February 2017 international symposium on Designing the Future for Fisheries Certification Schemes at the University of Tokyo, this manuscript traces the origins of fisheries certification schemes, relevant developments, and remaining challenges from an Asian perspective. Over the past 20 years, seafood certification has emerged as a powerful tool for meeting growing demands for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture products. Despite broad consensus among countries regarding what constitute responsible fishing practices, the fisheries certification landscape remains uneven. A plethora of certification schemes has generated confusion among consumers and retailers, and capital-intensive certification schemes may be out-of-reach or impractical for some small-scale fisheries, particularly within the developing world. A recent initiative by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) is aiming to address the diversity within the certification landscape by creating a tool to benchmark certification schemes that are in line with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and other relevant agreed FAO guidelines on fisheries, ecolabelling and aquaculture. Countries in Asia are among the world's top consumers and exporters of seafood, yet have faced some particular challenges with regard to seafood certification, underscoring the need for certification schemes that account for regional and local conditions and management practices, particularly with regard to small-scale fisheries.
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| 10. |
- Blasiak, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The Ocean Decade as an instrument of peace
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (the 'Ocean Decade') is poised to stimulate new cooperation for ocean science, but makes no mention of conflict or peace. We contend that this is a missed opportunity, and use an environmental peacebuilding typology to review how ocean science has historically contributed to peace. Such considerations are timely in the context of an increasingly complex and multidimensional ocean risk landscape, due among other things to unprecedented growth in the extent and intensity of ocean uses, and increasing conflict potential as the ocean becomes a more crowded and coveted place. We conclude by proposing the Ocean Decade Implementation Plan be appended to include an eighth intended outcome: 'A Peaceful Ocean'.
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