Organisation
University of Brest (UBO), IUEM (European Institute for Marine Studies), UMR 6308 (Joint Research Unit, Center for Low and Economics of the Sea)
The University of Brest is recruiting a 100% temporary contractual agent, on research credits, to carry out the functions of researcher.
Context
The present international legal and institutional regime set by the UN convention for the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay convention) to govern the ocean has been described as an “unfinished agenda” regarding the status of high seas. In 2017, after a process lasting more than a decade, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established an intergovernmental conference to negotiate an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) on the conservation and sustainable use of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). At the end of the third round of negotiations in August 2019, ILBI negotiators seem to accept that some form of global governance structure – through a Conference of the Parties (COP) – will be needed to ensure a proper implementation of the instrument.
The Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea are two sites representative of the diversity and importance of the ecosystems of the high seas. They perfectly illustrate the fact that the ecological limits (interconnectivity of ecosystems) do not correspond to the legal delimitations established by the Montego Bay Convention. They are dynamic formations, which move, shrink, and expand with currents and winds. They are mainly located beyond national jurisdiction on the high seas, but may “encroach” permanently, regularly or from time to time on EEZs that are under the jurisdiction of States.
The University of Brest (UBO) is a partner of SARGADOM, a project supported by the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), in collaboration with MarViva, an NGO based in Costa-Rica, the Sargasso Sea Commission and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB). The objective of the project is to develop and test methodologies to assess needs and means for conservation strategies in the high sea with the Thermal Dome (East Central Pacific) and the Sargasso Sea as research fields. The results will contribute to BBNJ negotiation and implementation by providing lessons learns on integrated socio-ecological assessment and hybrid governance for high sea conservation consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements, as part of a strategy based on an ecosystem approach.
The strategy proposed by the project is based on a DPSIR (Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) analysis in each site, and an analysis of the current governance of the two sites and potential improvements, which will lead to the development of proposals to improve the governance and to establish conservation and management measures in these sites.
Professional environment
AMURE Joint Research Unit (UBO-IFREMER-CNRS) brings together more than 40 researchers and professors in economics, law and human sciences from the University of Brest (UBO), the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). The unit is attached to the European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM) and to the Interdisciplinary School for the Blue Planet (ISblue). It is one of the main research centers in Europe working on public policies aimed at regulating the uses of ecosystems and their conservation for the sustainable development of maritime activities and marine and coastal areas.
Main missions
In the context of the SARGADOM project, she/he will be responsible for the methodological development of a DPSIR framework for the component 2 of the project “Socio-ecosystem integrated diagnosis”. Working in close collaboration with the different partners of the project, UBO, OFB , MarViva, the Sargasso Sea Commission, DUKE university, Global Fishing Watch, BIOS and Imperial College, she/he will be in charge of methodological development and coordination of implementation in the two study-sites. On both sites, a complete analysis and synthesis of the issues will be developed using the DPSIR approach. This will include defining the socio-ecosystem, identifying sustainability issues, characterizing the pressures and their impacts and the proposal of strategies to improve the sustainability of the socio-ecosystem. This integrated diagnosis will also include stakeholder engagement and consultation. The recruited person will also be in charge of ensuring the centralized production of six-monthly progress reports for the programme’s contracting parties and for the production of lessons learned report from the implementation of DPSIR based integrated diagnosis in the two sites.
Required skills and experiences
Education and experience:
- PhD in a relevant field of study (environmental management, conservation science, environmental economics, ecological economics)
- 3 to 5 years work experience in a similar position
Knowledge and technical skills:
- Experience in DPSIR or similar methodology, implementation, and analysis
- Experience of interacting with marine management in international fora (conservation bodies, RFMOs, IMO, …)
- Experience in interdisciplinary research between social and natural sciences
- Experience in coordination/involvement in international project
- Ability to organize, set up and manage a multi-partner and multidisciplinary project
- Work in consultation with various actors, sense of diplomacy
- Knowledge in high seas governance issues
Transversal and relational skills:
- Fluency in English and Spanish imperative (written and spoken), French will be appreciated
- Excellent communication ability to lead international workshops
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively engage a wide variety of partners, consultants and stakeholders
- Ability to work in a team, as well as with little supervision
- Excellent research skills and the ability to synthesize complex and technical information
- Excellent writing skills and proven ability to communicate to a range of audiences including ability to communicate scientific concepts to policy and lay audiences
- Sense of initiative, autonomy and versatility
Location
PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Context and issues
In 2017, after a process lasting more than a decade, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established an intergovernmental conference to negotiate an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The existing system has indeed been described as an “unfinished agenda”. At the end of the third round of negotiations in August 2019, ILBI negotiators seem to accept that some form of global governance structure – through a Conference of the Parties (COP) – is needed.
The Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea are two sites representative of the diversity and importance of the ecosystems of the high seas. They perfectly illustrate the fact that the ecological limits (interconnectivity of ecosystems) do not correspond to the legal delimitations established by the Montego Bay Convention. They are dynamic formations, which move, shrink, and expand with currents and winds. They are mainly located beyond national jurisdiction on the high seas, but may “encroach” permanently, regularly or from time to time on EEZs that are under the jurisdiction of States.
Objective
The objective of the project is to contribute to the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the high sea in the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea. It will incorporate and contribute to the elements of the UN negotiations on BBNJ and contribute to them by informing on possible implementation models for regional and international/global coordination, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements, as part of a strategy based on an ecosystem approach.
Content of the programme
The strategy proposed by the project is based on a DPSIR (Driving Force-Pressure-State-ImpactResponse) analysis in each site, and an analysis of the current governance of the two sites and potential improvements, which will lead to the development of proposals to improve the governance and to establish conservation and management measures in these sites. These results will help inform future agreements on BBNJ and other high seas areas wishing to designate Area-based Management Tools (ABMTs). The knowledge gained will also support the development of agreements and action plans for the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea.
The project is structured in four components:
- Coordination and steering: The three beneficiaries (Sargasso Sea Project Inc. (SSPI), which is responsible for the secretariat of the Sargasso Sea Commission (SSC), University of Western Brittany (UBO)), with the support of the Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), will set up a permanent internal coordination mechanism for the management of the project. A project coordinator will be mobilised by MarViva and SSC, and UBO will recruit a “DPSIR methodological coordination” officer for component 2 and another in charge of training on component 4.
- The project structure will include : i) A Steering Committee (project partners, Co-donors, representatives of the Advisory Board of Experts and key allies), which will oversee the overall strategic implementation of the initiative and the development of the operational components; ii) An Advisory Board of Experts to provide scientific and legal support to the implementation of activities; iii) Implementation teams at both sites (project managers, methodological coordinator, capacity building project officer and technical experts from the main implementing partners and external consultants.
- 2. Socio-ecosystem analysis-diagnosis: On both sites – in collaboration with the methodological support provided by the UBO, a complete analysis and synthesis of the issues will be developed using the DPSIR approach. Leveraging stakeholder engagement and consultation, this will include defining the socioecosystem, identifying sustainability issues, characterizing the pressures and their impacts and the proposal of strategies to improve the sustainability of the socio-ecosystem. This component also includes an innovative component on the issue of data acquisition (new observation technologies) and data management (big data, visualisation)
- 3. Capacity building and communication: Lessons learned from the results achieved in the two sites, both in terms of knowledge and governance, will form the basis for the development of a programme of capacity building and dissemination of know-how beyond the stakeholders directly involved in the proposed work plan, through the development and implementation of a multilingual online training programme (MOOC) on governance and conservation on the high seas, targeted at the international scientific community, government officials and private sector actors. Various communication actions are planned (see below).
- 4. Governance models for ecosystem-based management: Component 3 involves stakeholders in carrying out the diagnosis to build a hybrid and participatory governance model. In the light of the elements identified during these participatory and multi-sectoral discussions, the need and recommendations for potential governance structures and mechanisms will be generated with the participation of public and private stakeholders, based on the BBNJ instrument. For the Thermal Dome, the expected outcome is a multisectoral proposal for the governance and regulation of the high sea, with emphasis on fisheries and navigation, which will be submitted to the UN stakeholders by the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), and an application to be nominated by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. For the Sargasso Sea, it will be a Strategic Action Programme submitted to the signatories of the Hamilton Declaration.
Institutional set-up
The project is structured around three contracting authorities: MarViva, SSPI (legal entity of SSC) and UBO, and a strategic partner, the OFB, which is not a beneficiary of the French Global Environmental Fund (FFEM). MarViva and SSC will be responsible for the implementation of activities concerning each of the two sites. UBO will ensure methodological coordination based on the DPSIR methodology for component 2, and the capacity building component 4.
MarViva and SSC will work with international partners, in particular regarding collection and analysis of data for each of the sites. SSPI (and thus SSC) will delegate the administrative and financial management of the FFEM funds to the IUCN North America regional office (based in Washington). The project will be supervised by a steering committee. An advisory board of experts will be set up to provide scientific and legal support throughout the project.
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