Institutional Change, Sustainability and the Sea

Achim Schlüter, Sarah Wise, Kathleen Schwerdtner Mánez, Gabriela Weber De Morais and Marion Glaser
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Achim Schlüter: Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Ecology (ZMT), Bremen 28359, Germany
Sarah Wise: Sustainability Research Center (ARTEC), Bremen 28359, Germany
Kathleen Schwerdtner Mánez: Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Ecology (ZMT), Bremen 28359, Germany
Gabriela Weber De Morais: Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Ecology (ZMT), Bremen 28359, Germany
Marion Glaser: Leibniz Center for Marine Tropical Ecology (ZMT), Bremen 28359, Germany

Sustainability, 2013, vol. 5, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Currently, a substantial institutional change is under way for marine and coastal resources. Sustainability plays a major role therein. At the time of writing, roughly 2.3% of the marine and coastal territory has been declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Convention of Biological Diversity set a target to protect 10% of the global marine environment by 2020. This move toward enclosure signifies a substantial shift away from mainly open access to at least de jure marine protected areas. What drives institutional change towards MPAs; and what role does sustainability play in this change in governance? In reflecting on these questions, the paper’s aim is to begin a dialogue on how the social-ecological system (SES) analytical framework developed by Elinor Ostrom and her collaborators engages differentially with marine and coastal systems. How institutional change takes place depends on the characteristics of the resources considered and the drivers of change for the particular resource. In order to characterize the marine and coastal realm we use the social-ecological system (SES) framework of Elinor Ostrom. Douglas North’s theory of institutional change is used to classify the change observed. The marine realm has ambiguous system boundaries and often high resource mobility. Uncertainties about system properties and change are much higher than for terrestrial systems. Interdependencies among different ecosystems are high, necessitating multi-level governance. Institutional change in this sector occurs under strong institutional path dependencies and competing ideologies. All these features make it particularly relevant to think about institutional change, sustainability and the current process of MPA expansion.

Keywords: institutional change; sustainability; marine protected areas; SES-diagnostic framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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