scholarly journals Scoping Science-Policy Arenas for Regional Ocean Governance in the Wider Caribbean Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Mahon ◽  
Lucia Fanning

This paper explores the diversity of relationships that exist between science and policy and which underpin the uptake of science in oceans policy-making in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). We refer to these complex relationships, influenced by organizational culture and environments, as science-policy arenas. The paper examines the types of decisions that require science input, where the decision-making responsibility lies, who the science providers are, and how science gets translated into advice for a suite of 20 regional Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs). The picture that emerges is one of a diverse suite of well-structured and active science-policy processes, albeit with several deficiencies. These processes appear to be somewhat separated from a broad diversity of potential science inputs. The gap appears largely due to lack of accessibility and interest in both directions (providers <-> consumers), with IGOs apparently preferring to use a relatively small subset of available expertise. At the same time, there is a small number of boundary-spanners, many of which are newly emerging, that carry out a diversity of functions in seeking to address the gap. Based on our scoping assessment, there is an urgent need for actors to understand the networks of interactions and actively develop them for science-policy interfaces to be effective and efficient. This presents a major challenge for the region where most countries are small and have little if any science capacity. Innovative mechanisms that focus more on processes for accessing science than on assembling inventories of available information are needed. A managed information hub that can be used to build teams of scientists and advisors to address policy questions may be effective for the WCR given its institutional complexity. More broadly, recognition of the potential value of boundary spanning activities in getting science into policy is needed. Capacity for these should be built and boundary spanning organizations encouraged, formalized and mainstreamed.

Conservation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
André Derek Mader ◽  
Brian Alan Johnson ◽  
Yuki Ohashi ◽  
Isabella Fenstermaker

Biodiversity knowledge is communicated by scientists to policymakers at the biodiversity “science-policy interface” (SPI). Although the biodiversity SPI is the subject of a growing body of literature, gaps in our understanding include the efficacy of mechanisms to bridge the interface, the quality of information exchanged between science and policy, and the inclusivity of stakeholders involved. To improve this understanding, we surveyed an important but under-studied group—biodiversity policymakers and scientific advisors representing their respective countries in negotiations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We found that a wide variety of SPI mechanisms were being used. Overall, they were considered to be sufficiently effective, improving over time, and supplied with information of adequate quality. Most respondents, however, agreed that key actors were still missing from the biodiversity SPI.


Author(s):  
Beth Reingold

Chapter 5 explores the concept of intersectional policymaking further by examining closely the content of legislation sponsored by a small subset of Democratic state legislators serving majority-minority constituencies in California, New Jersey, and Texas in 1997 and 2005. What might intersectional policymaking look like and who practices it? The analysis uncovers a wide variety of intersectional proposals, spanning multiple policy arenas and addressing many different problems arising from multiple, intersecting forms of inequality and marginalization. Particularly notable are measures concerning the health and welfare of women of color, immigrants, and others often disproportionately located within low-income communities, as well as criminal justice measures taking on issues of over-policing and mass incarceration that disproportionately affect men and boys of color in similar low-income, urban communities. Most lawmakers in this subsample sponsor at least one intersectional bill, but women of color stand out as the most reliable practitioners of intersectional advocacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 105111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea De Toni ◽  
Paolo Di Martino ◽  
Thomas Dax

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micha Werner ◽  
Nora van Cauwenbergh ◽  
Tibor Stigter ◽  
Leonardo Alfonso Segura ◽  
Teresita Betancur Vargas ◽  
...  

<p>Despite a significant increase in attention for uptake of scientific results, the integration of emerging science in policy development and implementation remains challenging. The persistent gap between science and policy may frustrate the parties involved. For the scientists, the intended impacts of what are typically very much applied research efforts remain unattained. Those involved in policy implementation and development may perceive a lack of scientific support. This may particularly be the case in transitional countries, where the development of science may struggle to keep up with rapid societal and policy development; with several factors either impeding or facilitating the uptake of emergent scientific knowledge.</p><p>We implemented a series of participatory and action research activities to support the development and implementation of groundwater management policies in Colombia and explore barriers and enabling conditions to a functional science-policy interface. The factors that either impede or facilitate the process are examined through three case studies in different regions of the country. Although the national policies that govern groundwater resources management in these three areas are the same; the degree to which scientific knowledge is used to support policy implementation varies. Several factors are identified that influence the effectivity of the linkage, including among others; the availability of scientific knowledge; the establishing of trust relationships and positioning of institutions and stakeholders; as well as institutional readiness in supporting the policy implementation process. This comparison provides useful insight into how addressing some of the impeding factors may enrich the science-policy process.</p>


Author(s):  
Telesetsky Anastasia

This chapter examines issues of global ocean governance from North American and Arctic perspectives. It first considers the priority global ocean law and policy issues for federal agencies in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the areas of marine environment protection and traditional maritime security (for example, trafficking and human migration). For each North American State, the chapter identifies any specific interactions between the State and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) that have been highlighted by the State that involve ocean governance competencies. The focus is on a small subset of IGOs and United Nations entities including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Maritime Organization, World Meteorological Organization, World Customs Organization, and the UN Security Council. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the global ocean governance priorities of the Arctic Council and any interactions between the Arctic Council and UN IGOs on priority matters for the Council.


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