I recently collaborated will colleagues from WorldFish on a paper now out in Sustainability, which explores social dynamics that shape the diffusion of sustainable aquaculture practices. Jess and I have been thinking a lot lately about Diffusion of Innovation theory, and how it might be useful to explain the uptake and spread of community-based conservation "innovations". In this … Continue reading Social Dynamics Shaping the Diffusion of Sustainable Aquaculture Innovations in the Solomon Islands
Mapping collaboration networks in the Philippines
Last week I was in the Philippines, trying to understand what motivates collaboration between local governments on coastal resource management. The Philippines is recognised as leading the way in “scaling up” from locally managed marine protected areas (MPAs) to MPA networks. Responsibility for managing coastal resources (and designating MPAs) is devolved to local municipalities, many of … Continue reading Mapping collaboration networks in the Philippines
Marine reserve design infographic in Bahasa Indonesia
Last week I wrote about our new paper in Journal of Applied Ecology, Using reef fish movement to inform marine reserve design. My co-authors and I really excited to see the approach we demonstrate in the paper applied elsewhere, so I was thrilled to be contacted by Jensi Sartin of Reef Check Foundation Indonesia (and JCU alumnus) who asked … Continue reading Marine reserve design infographic in Bahasa Indonesia
New Paper: Using reef fish movement to inform marine reserve design
In this post Rebecca Weeks discusses her recent paper ‘Using reef fish movement to inform marine reserve design‘. Reproduced from the Journal of Applied Ecology blog. Photo above: Luiz Rocha The majority of marine protected areas in Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia) are too small to protect the species that people care about most. But when livelihoods depend … Continue reading New Paper: Using reef fish movement to inform marine reserve design
New Paper: Systematic conservation planning within a Fijian customary governance context
The groundwork for the paper was undertaken by lead author Hans Wendt, whilst he was undertaking his Masters degree at the University of the South Pacific. At the time, I was working for WCS Fiji, and provided Hans with guidance on systematic conservation planning. He took this and did some amazing work with communities in his home province … Continue reading New Paper: Systematic conservation planning within a Fijian customary governance context
SCB Oceania are looking for new board members
The Oceania Section of the Society for Conservation Biology are currently seeking nominations for 2 new board members. I’ve been on the board for 2 years (and will be for 1 more) and it’s been great. Serving on the board is a good way to get more involved with the workings of a professional society (looks great on … Continue reading SCB Oceania are looking for new board members
OIST workshop on Ecological and Socio-economic Impacts of Marine and Terrestrial Conservation Policy
Last week I was fortunate to visit the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology as an invited speaker for a workshop on Ecological and Socio-economic Impacts of Marine and Terrestrial Conservation Policy. I was, at first, a little skeptical of the OIST workshop format - a series of hour long seminars, with no intended "output" … Continue reading OIST workshop on Ecological and Socio-economic Impacts of Marine and Terrestrial Conservation Policy
Big Sur workshop on periodically harvested closures
For the last few years now I have been working with a fantastic group of colleagues on research into the effectiveness of periodically harvested fisheries closures. Widely implemented by local communities across Melanesia, periodically harvested closures (PHCs) are fisheries closures that have opening regimes that can range from mostly closed to mostly open. PHCs evolved … Continue reading Big Sur workshop on periodically harvested closures
Two new papers on Brazilian coral reefs
Two new papers, from Rafael's PhD thesis, were published this year and are now online at Ecography and PLoS ONE. The first is a new attempt to incorporate multi species connectivity into conservation planning for coral reefs. By using a combination of remote sensing techniques and biophysical modelling tools, the paper aims to provide an … Continue reading Two new papers on Brazilian coral reefs