About the Project
Marine Protected Area designation and management has significantly advanced over the past decade in the UK. In response to a range of EU, UK and devolved drivers, considerable progress has been made over the spatial protection of marine biodiversity in the inshore and offshore environment. A number of policy processes have unfolded across UK jurisdictions with differing regulatory drivers and management approaches. In many cases emerging designations have been contested by coastal communities and industry sectors as they infringe on existing use rights. What has emerged is a complex mosaic of spatial designations that interact and overlap in space, share multiple objectives and common challenges.
Add to these complex arrangements a number of emerging reforms and drivers (Brexit; UK 25 year Environmental Strategy; Scottish Environmental Strategy) that will shape MPA governance into the near future. This includes post-Brexit management of the network; increasing pressures in context of the ‘Blue Economy’; developing efficient management, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and facilitating natural capital and ‘whole system’ approaches into MPA governance. There is a substantial need for multidisciplinary trained graduates who can work across different sectors and interests to maximise the social and ecological potential of marine protected areas.
This study will examine a range of integrated governance challenges that face MPAs in the Atlantic UK region. Cross jurisdictional, overlapping and regionally co-located cases will be selected from West Scotland, Northern Ireland, NW England and Wales. It will examine the social, economic, geographical and policy settings and drivers in MPA governance in both the inshore and offshore context. It will explore the current challenges facing cross border and geographically entwined MPA governance and articulate improved governance modalities that incorporate an ecosystem approach. The project will include a placement within a UK government agency JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee); formal training in science-policy engagement and integration; training in stakeholder engagement practices and policy analysis. The PhD will be housed within the newly created Green Economy Research Centre (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/geosciences/gerc) in Aberdeen that brings together multidisiplinary expertise to explore and facilitate green transitions in a variety of sectoral settings and will also spend significant time at Queens University Belfast training in social and non-market valuation techniques.
Specifically the study will explore the following research questions:
1. What are the features of successful MPA governance from the perspective of statutory bodies and key stakeholder communities? Are they consistent across jurisdictions and sectors?
2. How can natural capital and ecosystem service concepts be can applied to MPA designation and management?
3. How can ecosystem services provided by individual sites be evaluated, monitored and managed? How do they change over time in response to multiple pressures and societal demands?
4. How can evidence and the narrative around Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services influence the positions and engagement of different interest groups?
Candidates should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum of a 2.1 Honours degree in a relevant subject.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
• Apply for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography
• State name of the lead supervisor as the Name of Proposed Supervisor
• State ‘QUADRAT DTP’ as Intended Source of Funding
• State the exact project title on the application form
Application closing date is 12:00pm (GMT) on 31 January 2019. Applications received after this time will NOT be considered. Additionally, incomplete applications will NOT be considered. When applying please ensure all required documents are attached:
• All degree certificates and transcripts (Undergraduate AND Postgraduate MSc-officially translated into English where necessary)
• CV
• 2 References (Academic, where possible)
Informal inquiries can be made to Dr T Potts ([Email Address Removed]) with a copy of your curriculum vitae and cover letter. All general enquiries should be directed to the Postgraduate Research School ([Email Address Removed])
The start date of the project is 1 October 2019.
Funding Notes
To be eligible to apply for a fully-funded DTP studentship, you must:
1. be a UK or EU citizen or a non-EU citizen with permanent settled status in the UK (known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
AND
2. have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to the start of the studentship (this applies to all citizen categories)
References
References:
Hopkins, CR., Bailey, DM. & Potts, T. (2018). 'Navigating future uncertainty in marine protected area governance: Lessons from the Scottish MPA network'. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 207, pp. 303-311.
Potts, T., Burdon, D., Jackson, E., Atkins, J., Saunders, J., Hastings, E., Langmead, O. & Potts, T. (2014). 'Do marine protected areas deliver flows of ecosystem services to support human welfare?'. Marine Policy, vol. 44, pp. 139-148.
Tagliafierro, C., Longo, A., Van Eetvelde, V., Antrop, M. & Hutchinson, G., Oct 2013, Landscape economic valuation by integrating landscape ecology into landscape economics. Environmental Science & Policy. 32, p. 26-36"
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