Healthy ecosystems buzzing with life are more than something pretty to look at – they are critically important to our health and wellbeing. Ecosystems deliver goods and services that humans need – like fresh water, protection from the elements and food for our dinner tables – and it’s in our best interest to make sure they remain vibrant and thriving for future generations.
Meeting that need requires effective management, and while many institutions across the globe deliver that care and successfully mitigate major harms to the environment, they can fall short in other ways. Rules about resource stewardship often come from the top down in a one-size-fits-all approach that can lack the flexibility needed to address complex, rapidly evolving issues. Too often, institutions do not have mechanisms for community voices and knowledge to be part of the solution, leaving communities with insufficient pathways and resources to solve problems.
New research from the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs identifies a powerful yet seemingly simple tool to help fill that gap: networks. As part of a year-long capstone project, a team of graduate students and their mentors* examined marine-related learning networks, which are already playing a role in strengthening ocean governance. These networks facilitate knowledge creation, exchange and dissemination and help individuals and institutions address problems facing communities connected to the ocean.
The researchers partnered with PainelMar, an emerging learning network in Brazil to complete their study, with the goal of providing insights to them based on interviews and findings from other networks around the world. Their work was published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
“While marine-related networks are not a panacea for ocean and coastal issues, they allow for the inclusivity of communities that have previously been left out of environmental governance management regimes,” says study co-author Henry Bell. Networks can begin to take shape when people connect over “a shared problem that everyone wants to talk about but there’s not a clear organization to solve it.”
Marine-related learning networks can take many shapes and sizes, depending on their goals. They can be local, national or international. They can help build and share local knowledge, develop unique skills and create relationships that encourage mentoring and problem-solving. They can build connections between groups that otherwise might not interact, like scientists, policy makers, communities and other stakeholders. They can help shape collective governance approaches that lead to a more just and sustainable future for everyone.
“Every network is different,” says Marlena Skrobe, a co-author on the study. “Some are for managers to connect with other managers, some networks try to bring their knowledge to policy, others try to bring in perspectives that aren’t always heard. The problems surfaced are often timely and happening now, and waiting for the next paper to come out won’t help people on the ground.”
The team’s study looks for common elements of success across 16 marine-focused networks that vary in size, scope, geography and goals. Successful networks share four key attributes: the network has a distinct purpose, is used to build trust and relationships, emphasizes equitable participation and supports clear, sustained leadership.
“The importance of having a coordinator driving communications and outreach is really critical,” says co-author Katy Dalton. “Even though network approaches are less hierarchical, there still needs to be someone doing the work. Success comes when that person is fairly compensated, dedicated, sticks around for the long-run and is able to leverage all the different partnerships. They can make or break a network.” She emphasized that learning networks can “break down hierarchies and build equitable partnerships, to not value one type of knowledge over another because all have value.”
While learning networks are well documented in literature, “there was not really much research out there at all on networks in marine and coastal spaces,” notes Bell. “Plenty of networks exist in marine fields, but there hasn’t been any critical comparison of commonalities across these networks — we tried to bring that together.”
“This is not revolutionary or groundbreaking,” says Dalton. “We’re offering a starting point to help people realize the potential of these networks and to help avoid some of the mistakes that other networks have made. Our goal was not to create more networks, or to be duplicative, but instead to offer guidance and a broad overview of what marine learning networks are and why they might be important.”
Students were mentored by School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Professor Patrick Christie and Leopoldo Gerhardinger of Brazil’s PainelMar, whose scholarship focuses on justice and sustainability at the interface of oceans and coastal communities, and who fosters various ocean learning networks in Brazil and the Pacific. Their paper is a novel addition to the literature on marine resource management and helped shape students’ views on research and the direction of their own careers.
“I am now motivated to work on marine policy from the perspective and dimension of the people and communities dealing with these very complex problems,” says Dalton. Skrobe adds that the “learning experience was about changing the narrative, not just being extractive researchers but giving back so the outcomes are more collaborative and co-produced.”
*The capstone project team and authors included graduate students Katy Dalton, Marlena Skrobe, Henry Bell, Benjamin Kantner and Dave Berndtson from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, Ocean Nexus Center, and Jackson School of International Studies, and mentors Leopoldo Gerhardinger and Patrick Christie.
