syllabus advanced ocean policy research pipa ·...

SEA Semester®: Protecting the Phoenix Islands (Summer)

www.sea.edu Advanced Ocean Policy Research/PIPA -‐ 1

Advanced Ocean Policy Research CAS NS 460 (4 credits) Course Catalog Description (max. 40 words): Advanced policy research focusing on a topic of current importance (may include fisheries, biodiversity, marine spatial planning, and cultural heritage). Emphasis on theoretical concepts, research methods, and communication skills. Requires critical review paper, original research, and final report. Instructor(s): Sea Education Association Maritime Studies and Ocean Policy Faculty and visiting scholars. Location: SEA campus in Woods Hole, MA and aboard SEA sailing school vessel at sea. Prerequisites: Admission to SEA Semester. Junior standing or consent of instructor. Course Philosophy and Approach: In this course students will conduct advanced place-‐based research in ocean policy. The course is designed to provide students with a working knowledge of emerging frameworks for Ocean and Coastal Management and their fundamental building blocks. Working with the instructor, students work as individuals and in groups to complete multi-‐disciplinary policy studies of specific places in coastal or open ocean environments. All students will explore multiple facets of ocean policy but each will focus on a specific technical area for their original research (for example, historical ecology, stakeholder assessment, cultural heritage, civil society). Teams will work with the instructor to manage research so that the individual efforts result in a comprehensive and multifaceted final document detailing ocean policy issues and recommendations for a specific place. The course places a heavy emphasis on mastering concepts, research skills, and in developing written and oral communication abilities suitable for the public and policy areas. This course consists of a total of 52 formal contact hours, augmented with additional informal meetings to help guide students throughout the policy research process. The formal contact hours include lectures, seminars/discussion sections and structured working group meetings—16 hours on shore during the first two weeks of the program, and 36 hours during the six weeks spent at sea.

Learning Outcomes: 1. Understand emerging frameworks for ocean and coastal management and their

fundamental building blocks. 2. Gain practical experience with specific approaches, tools, and techniques used in

conducting ocean policy research. 3. Research and develop a management plan for the Phoenix Island Protected Area, presented

as a professional-‐quality written policy paper.



Evaluation:

Preliminary Research Topic Report 10% Seminar Participation, Preparation, Misc. Assignments 20% MPA Critical Evaluation Paper 20% Policy Project Draft 10% Final Policy Report 40%

Assignments:

The primary Advanced Ocean Policy Research assignment is the group policy research project. Completing this project involves not only delivering a well-‐researched and well-‐written final policy report during the final weeks of the program, but also requires meeting intermediate milestones along the way. Everyone pulling their own weight plus 20% of someone else’s will lead to group harmony and excellent results. Each student will write an evaluation of his/her working group’s successes and challenges and each group member’s contributions before receiving final grades for the group assignments. Nonetheless, the grades of individual students will suffer, however conscientious, if they end up working as part of a poorly functioning team. Every student has the responsibility to work hard to develop and maintain a harmonious and productive team. Further details about the policy research project and related assignments will be discussed in the first week of the course. Expectations and Requirements:

• Punctual attendance is required at every class meeting. • Active participation in class discussion is expected. • Late assignment submissions are not accepted. • The policy on academic accuracy, quoted below, will be strictly followed in this class.

The papers that you submit in this course are expected to be your original work. You must take care to distinguish your own ideas and knowledge from wording or substantive information that you derive from one of your sources. The term “sources” includes not only published primary and secondary material, but also information and opinions gained directly from other people and text that you cut and paste from any site on the Internet. The responsibility for learning the proper forms of citation lies with you. Quotations must be placed properly within quotation marks and must be cited fully. In addition, all paraphrased material must be acknowledged completely. Whenever ideas or facts are derived from your reading and research, the sources must be indicated. (Harvard Handbook for Students, 305)

• Considerations for use of internet sources: As you browse websites, assess their usefulness very critically. Who posted the information and why? Can you trust them to be correct? Authoritative? Unbiased? (It’s okay to use a biased source as long as you incorporate it knowingly and transparently into your own work.) Keep track of good sources that might be useful for subsequent assignments, and annotate in your bibliography any sites you cite.



Your annotation should include the name of the author or organization originating any material that you reference. If you can’t identify the source, don’t use it!

Readings:

Agardy, T. Ocean Zoning: Making Marine Management More Effective. Earthscan 2010.

Agardy. T. Casting off the Chains the Bind Us to Ineffective Ocean Management. Ocean Yearbook 22: 1-‐17.

Axford, J.C., M.T. Hockings, and R.W. Carter, What Constitutes Success in Pacific Island Community Conserved Areas? Ecology and Society 13(2) 2008: 45.

Crowder, L. and E. Norse, Essential Ecological Insights for Marine Ecosystem-‐based Management and Marine Spatial Planning. Marine Policy 32 (2008) 772-‐778.

Douvere, F. The Importance of Marine Spatial Palling in Advancing Ecosystem-‐based Sea Use Management. Marine Policy 32 (2008) 762-‐771.

Ehler, C. Conclusions: Benefits, Lessons Learned, and Future Challenges of Marine Spatial Planning. Marine Policy 32 (2008) 840-‐843.

How is my MPA Doing? National MPA Center.

Joint Oceans Commission, Changing Ocean Changing World: Ocean Priorities for the Obama Administration, 2009.

McLeod, KL, J Lubchenco, SR Palumbi, and AA Rosenberg. 2005. Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Ecosystem-‐based Management. Signed by 219 academic scientists and policy experts with relevant expertise and published by the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-‐Being: Synthesis. World

Resources Institute, Washington, DC. 160pp.

Mills, C. and J.T. Carleton, Rational for a System of International Marine Reserves for the Open Ocean. Conservation Biology 12(1) 1998: 244-‐247.

Olsen, S.B. 2003. Frameworks and indicators for assessing progress in integrated coastal management initiatives. Ocean and Coastal Management, 46:347-‐361.

Olsen, S.B., Methods for the Analysis of Governance Responses to Coastal Ecosystem Change. IPHD Updates Vol. 3, 2009.

Pew Oceans Commission Reports 2003 America's Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change. Marine Reserves: A Tool for Ecosystem Management and Conservation

Pomeroy, R. and F. Douvere, The Engagement of Stakeholders in the Marine Spatial Planning Process. Marine Policy 32 (2008): 816-‐822.

Scheiber, Harry N. “The Stratton Commission: An Historical Perspective on Policy Studies in Ocean Governance 1969 and 1998” The Stratton Roundtable 1998



St. Martin and M. Arbor-‐Hall: The Missing Layer: Geo-‐technologies, communities, and implications for Marine Spatial Planning. Marine Policy 32 (2008): 779-‐786.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality, Final Recommendations of the U.S. Ocean Policy Task Force, July 19, 2010.

U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, An Ocean Blue Print for the 21st Century, Final Report of the U.S. Oceans Commission, 2004.

Young, O. et. Al., Solving the Crisis in Ocean Governance: Place-‐based Management of Marine Ecosystems. Environment 49(4) 2007: 21-‐32.



Course Calendar:

Topic Readings/Assignments Due

Week 1 (8 hours) – on shore at SEA campus in Woods Hole, MA

Topics: • Introduction, Goal Setting & Skill/Interest

Assessment • Fundamental Sources in Ocean Policy Research

Seminar: The Struggle for Ocean Policy from the Stratton Commission to the Obama Administration

Supervised Working Group Meeting I

Readings: Scheiber, 1998. Joint Oceans Commission, 2009. The White House Council on

Environmental Quality, 2010. U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, 2004. Source Assessment Presentations

Week 2 (8 hours) – on shore at SEA campus in Woods Hole, MA

Topics: • What is Ecosystem-‐Based Management? • Understanding Places: Integrated Ocean and

Coastal Management • Solving the Crises in Ocean Governance • Historical Ecology in Policy Research

Supervised Working Group Meeting II

Readings: Crowder and Norse, 2008. McLeod et al., 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,

2005. Olsen, 2003 and 2009. Young et al., 2007. Preliminary Research Topic Report Due

Weeks 3 and 4 (8 hours) – on the ship

Topics: • Marine Reserves and Protected Areas I • Stakeholders and Ocean Policy • Nature and Culture in Ocean Policy

Supervised Working Group Meeting III

Readings: Axford et al., 2008. Mills and Carleton, 1998. Pew Oceans Commission Reports, 2003. Pomeroy and Douvere, 2008. St. Martin and Arbor-‐Hall, 2008. How is my MPA Doing? MPA Critical Evaluation Paper Due

Weeks 5 and 6 (8 hours) – on the ship

Topics: • Marine Spatial Planning I – International

Perspectives of Ocean Zoning • Marine Spatial Planning II – U.S. Experiences • Communicating Science and Policy

Readings: Agardy, 2010. Agardy, Ocean Yearbook. Douvere, 2008. Ehler, 2008.



• Communicating – Getting Your Point Across in Presentations and Testimony

Week 7 (10 hours structured class/meeting time) – on the ship

(Intensive Reading and Writing Week)

Daily Working Group Meetings

Research Review Meetings with Instructor

Policy Research Project Draft Due

Week 8 (10 hours structured class/meeting time) – on the ship

(Intensive Writing Week)

Working and Editing Group Meetings

Project Review Meetings with Instructor

Final Project Report Due

syllabus advanced ocean policy research pipa ·...

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