Research Context
In recent decades, the oceans have been targeted as “frontiers” of development, increasingly serving as the focus of capitalist exploitation and resource extraction. At the same time, growing concerns over declines in ocean biodiversity have led to narratives of oceans in crisis and calls for improved management and regulatory frameworks. Attempts to reconcile these two seemingly contradictory representations of oceans often invoke sustainable development, informed by science and technology. For example, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (the “Ocean Science Decade”) seeks “the science we need for the ocean we want” with a mission to achieve “transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development.” Likewise, blue economy has emerged as a powerful development paradigm, with proponents citing its potential to pair environmental sustainability with economic development. Proponents of development projects advanced under this paradigm often promise that technological and scientific innovation can pair economic growth with conservation, potentially obscuring the changes required to achieve sustainability and depoliticizing the associated debates and trade-offs.
Research Interests and Overarching Questions
My work broadly examines governance and projects premised on sustainable development and blue economy to understand implications for both global equity and coastal communities. I currently am investigating these issues through three ongoing projects (detailed below). Recognizing that global governance affects local practice, and that local processes likewise can be circulated and translated elsewhere, I seek to draw the connections among these cases. Overarching questions include:
- Which ocean representations are being promoted in connection with conservation/development proposals, which are being marginalized, and which forms of knowledge are informing those representations?
- What new possibilities for oceans governance, development, and conservation are emerging?
- What are the equity and justice implications at the global and local level?
Ongoing Projects
Re-imagining the Blue Economy
I am currently exploring the emergence of the blue economy as a strategy for post-disaster recovery in Grand Bahama, The Bahamas, after Hurricane Dorian, where a diverse range of actors (corporations, NGOs, academics, and community members) are entangled in a variety of conservation and development initiatives. Building on diverse economies theory, I conceptualize the blue economy not as a stable concept, but something that can be resisted and reshaped with communities in mind. The goal of this research is to understand what economic and social possibilities are emerging, and what are being (or at risk of being) foreclosed through new projects being advanced under the banner of the blue economy. I am also interested in the role of science and technology in shaping these processes, as actors seek to position Grand Bahama as a hub of ocean-based innovation.
Making Ocean Worlds: The Big Data Revolution and Oceans Governance
I am a member of the Digital Oceans Governance Lab, an interdisciplinary team examining the intersection between the proliferation of ocean data science initiatives (ODSIs) and increasing global interest in oceans governance. Together, our team is developing and analyzing an ODSI catalogue (v.1 is published here) to understand ODSIs’ role in reshaping oceans as spaces for governance. I am actively involved in numerous analyses of the catalogue, including leading a project studying ODSI data visualizations and their role in worldmaking. For this project, I developed and and implemented a mixed-methods analysis protocol combining qualitative analysis in nVivo with quantitative analysis in r. I am also leading a team of undergraduates in cleaning and updating the next version of the catalogue.
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Global Oceans Governance Negotiations
The UN recently adopted a new treaty to govern the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Treaty). Our team tracked the negotiations leading to this treaty, particularly focusing on discussions surrounding marine genetic resources and areas-based management tools. That initial work tracked claims to access, ownership, and control of ocean spaces and resources, and examined what it may mean for equity. As a result, I led a publication examining how the mobility of ocean resources is, and is not addressed, in the context of these negotiations, and the potential implications for global oceans governance. As the parties to the BBNJ Treaty prepare for implementation, I continue to track ongoing negotiations, combining my background as an Intellectual Property Lawyer with my critical lens as an human and oceans geographer to understand the potential impacts of intersecting legal regimes.
Emily Melvin 