At the forthcoming Conference of Irish Geographers (May 18th-21st, online), I will convene a themed session with Danial Tubridy (UCD Planning) and Liam Carr (NUI Galway Geography) focussed on exploring and developing critical perspectives on coastal and marine governance and their associated geographies.
The final deadline for abstract submissions is 30th April (via the conference website). Read on for further details!
Session Abstract:
Coastal and marine environments face multiple challenges and pressures and are increasingly important sites of governance activity. Policy initiatives such as maritime spatial planning (MSP) and marine protected area (MPA) networks seek to find an appropriate and acceptable balance between biodiversity protection, renewable energy generation, sustainable fisheries, tourism and other uses. Vulnerable coastal communities require forward-looking strategic policy-making and responsible government action to ensure adequate protection of lives and livelihoods from storm floods and coast erosion. The governance of Ireland’s coast and marine space to date makes evident the need for coordinated, integrated approaches with clear lines of responsibility. MSP and MPAs entail the production of new spaces of responsibility, which must be anchored within processes of accountability, legitimacy and transparency to ensure responsible governance. Coastal protection similarly must be addressed from integrated, spatial perspectives, with a transparent and just division of responsibility between central government, regional and local scales.
This session invites papers / presentations which explore and critically assess the governance of coastal and marine spaces. The primary geographical focus is the island of the Ireland but papers with relevant comparative perspectives may also be considered.
Specific themes may include:
- Maritime spatial planning
- Marine protected areas
- Coastal adaptation, managed retreat
- Fisheries or marine energy governance
- Community-based management
Whereas this session focuses social science / human geography perspectives, a second session convened by Iris Möller , Eugene Farrell & Mary Bourke (Rethinking the land-sea boundary: Geographical contributions to living with and understanding coastal risk in the spectrum of research, climate, people and policy) will approach similar issues and topics from predominantly physical geography perspectives. We encourage attendance at both sessions and welcome the opportunity for interdisciplinary dialogue.
If you are considering submitting an abstract and presenting a paper or have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, Daniel or Liam via email.