Integrating diverse values into the sustainable management of marine resources in the UK
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Portsmouth
Department Name: Sch of the Env, Geography & Geosciences
Abstract
The overarching goal of the project is to generate an enduring and world-class step-change in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine policy stakeholder and research community to implement diverse values for decision making and support the sustainable management of the UK's marine resources. Diverse values refer to the many dimensions of value including economic values, social and cultural values, aesthetic values, and natural values and how they might be accounted for in decision-making frameworks such as instrumental values, intrinsic values and relational values. Marine environments and human well-being are inextricably linked through complex and multi-layered socio-ecological systems that span terrestrial, coastal and ocean domains. While this complexity is widely acknowledged in theory, current models of marine resource management practice (which themselves are highly complex, multi-scaled and interconnected) do not adequately adopt the necessary transdisciplinary approaches to use diverse values or have the means to align them to decision making and policy development.
The transition to transdisciplinarity and diverse values is a challenge faced by marine science and policy communities worldwide and is acknowledged as a global science priority for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNESCO 2019). It is a cross-cutting challenge which affects all marine management priorities. The inclusion of diverse values, particularly of a qualitative nature, into UK marine management processes is crucial, but at present is outside the experience, capability and comfort zone of many institutions and individuals in the marine management research and practitioner community. The aims of this project drive an innovative agenda of transformational research that both significantly advances our understanding of values-based marine management and which provides actionable tools and approaches that can feed directly into contemporary marine management practice in the UK. Working across three test study sites of Portsmouth / Newhaven, Upper Severn Estuary and the Shetland Islands the aims of this research are:
1. to generate a new conceptual basis for transdisciplinary marine management and research that allows multiple and diverse human values to be incorporated into marine management in the UK.
2. to synthesise existing ecological and economic data with new diverse values approaches (collected using methods from largely outside the marine community) to produce groundbreaking transdisciplinary and holistic understanding of how coastal communities value marine resources and their management.
3. to evaluate, through on-the-ground testing, how diverse values can: 1) be used to unlock the potential of ocean literacy to become an actionable policy tool; and 2) be integrated into marine governance institutions and practices to unlock a step-change in sustainable outcomes.
4. to create and implement a national-scale transition plan to support the UK marine management and research community to mainstream transdisciplinary approaches.
A key aim of the project is to create a step-change in the capability of the UK marine sector to consider diverse values and the transdisciplinary approaches needed to operationalise those values. We have approached this by developing a research programme that is focused on co-constructing how diverse values can be used in policy and practice by developing transdisciplinary working practices both within academia and more broadly with diverse stakeholders. The aim of the project is to create a change in the practices of marine management in the UK. The project legacy will be an increased understanding and implementation of diverse values into marine policy and decision making and the creation of transition plans for institutions to facilitate embedding transdisciplinary practices into the operations of organisations.
The transition to transdisciplinarity and diverse values is a challenge faced by marine science and policy communities worldwide and is acknowledged as a global science priority for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNESCO 2019). It is a cross-cutting challenge which affects all marine management priorities. The inclusion of diverse values, particularly of a qualitative nature, into UK marine management processes is crucial, but at present is outside the experience, capability and comfort zone of many institutions and individuals in the marine management research and practitioner community. The aims of this project drive an innovative agenda of transformational research that both significantly advances our understanding of values-based marine management and which provides actionable tools and approaches that can feed directly into contemporary marine management practice in the UK. Working across three test study sites of Portsmouth / Newhaven, Upper Severn Estuary and the Shetland Islands the aims of this research are:
1. to generate a new conceptual basis for transdisciplinary marine management and research that allows multiple and diverse human values to be incorporated into marine management in the UK.
2. to synthesise existing ecological and economic data with new diverse values approaches (collected using methods from largely outside the marine community) to produce groundbreaking transdisciplinary and holistic understanding of how coastal communities value marine resources and their management.
3. to evaluate, through on-the-ground testing, how diverse values can: 1) be used to unlock the potential of ocean literacy to become an actionable policy tool; and 2) be integrated into marine governance institutions and practices to unlock a step-change in sustainable outcomes.
4. to create and implement a national-scale transition plan to support the UK marine management and research community to mainstream transdisciplinary approaches.
A key aim of the project is to create a step-change in the capability of the UK marine sector to consider diverse values and the transdisciplinary approaches needed to operationalise those values. We have approached this by developing a research programme that is focused on co-constructing how diverse values can be used in policy and practice by developing transdisciplinary working practices both within academia and more broadly with diverse stakeholders. The aim of the project is to create a change in the practices of marine management in the UK. The project legacy will be an increased understanding and implementation of diverse values into marine policy and decision making and the creation of transition plans for institutions to facilitate embedding transdisciplinary practices into the operations of organisations.
Organisations
- University of Portsmouth (Lead Research Organisation)
- Marine Scotland Science (MSS) (Collaboration)
- Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (Collaboration)
- Portsmouth City Council (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Natural England (Collaboration)
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Collaboration)
- Environment Agency (Collaboration)
- Natural England (Project Partner)
- Gulbenkian Foundation (Project Partner)
- Coastal Partnerships Network (Project Partner)
- Newhaven Enterprise Zone (Project Partner)
- Marine Management Organisation (Project Partner)
- National Maritime (IMWA Cic) (Project Partner)
- Severn Estuary Partnership (Project Partner)
Publications
McKinley E
(2023)
The evolution of ocean literacy: A new framework for the United Nations Ocean Decade and beyond.
in Marine pollution bulletin
Title | Integrating Diverse Values into Management: SMMR Funded Projects |
Description | The film is a short introduction to the 'Integrating Diverse Values into Management' project. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | This has been used to raise awareness of the project amongst the academic and practitioner community. |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gMSb-8cNrA |
Description | Solent to Sussex Bay Seascape Restoration Network |
Amount | £182,353 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/X01648X/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 12/2023 |
Description | The production of a dynamic inventory of seascape restoration activities in the Solent to Sussex Bay area to support coordinated restoration action and learning |
Amount | £20,944 (GBP) |
Organisation | Environment Agency |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 03/2023 |
Title | xx |
Description | xx |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | xxx |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Department | Marine Management Organisation (MMO) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Environment Agency |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Marine Scotland Science (MSS) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Natural England |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Formation of a multi-partner Advisory Board |
Organisation | Portsmouth City Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The multi-partner advisory board is organised by the project research team to support multi-directional learning and innovation in support of our research activities. The board was launched in December 2021 so tio date, most of our actions have been related to familiarising the board members with the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners were asked to contribute to a range of specific questions at our last meeting, including questions about engagement, measures of success and a project-scale theory of change. The discussion with partners has helped to refine the focus of the project, particularly related to our ambitions towards generating a significant shift in the transdisciplinary capability of the UK marine management research and practitioner community. |
Impact | Not as yet. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Coastal walk with vetrans |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | In order to explore the marine values held by veterans, a coastal walk was held to discuss coastal protection in Southsea as a vehicle to initiate exploratory conversations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |