School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Theses
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ItemEmerging sustainability governance paradigms: a case study of the blue carbon initiatives in the Indo-Pacific( 2021)Sustainability and governance are two core elements that shape the interaction and connection between human and non-human beings, framing the societal arrangements across numerous spheres of influence. The Anthropocene marks an epoch dominated by human activities driving earth system transformations, including, but not limited to, climate change and its impacts. Concerns about these changes also influence emerging expressions of governance beyond the classical structures (e.g., nation-states, institutions), with voices from civil society progressively occupying decision-making spaces and influencing political agendas. Using Earth System Governance as a starting point, this research aimed to investigate the emergence of alternative sustainability governance paradigms and how they might play out in future environmental governance. Blue carbon is a relatively new notion in global climate policy that addresses the capacity of coastal and marine ecosystems to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and sequester it for long periods of time. As a result, blue carbon initiatives have been developed worldwide to support and implement the concept. Given the ecological, cultural, economic, and social complexity of the settings in which blue carbon is being implemented, these activities can illustrate the direction and form of sustainability governance and its alignment with emerging paradigms. Coastal blue carbon is biophysically situated at the interface between land and sea; thus, it represents a negotiation space where values, interests, and priorities overlap and often contradict each other (i.e., the social dimensions of carbon). As a result, we encounter a complex scenario with the potential to determine future policy formulation that will directly impact the character and extent of the human-oceans and deep ocean interactions. The Indo-Pacific region has a high concentration of mangroves, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes. Coastal blue carbon extends across these highly dynamic and biocultural diverse habitats where numerous stakeholders interact and negotiate interests and priorities. Blue carbon activities in this region were selected to explore the interactions between stakeholders and the differentiated governance and leadership modes being adopted in these sustainability governance arrangements in practice. A multi-level case study analysis was used to identify the characteristics of blue carbon initiatives and their alignment with emerging sustainability governance paradigms. Integrating constructivism and critical theory, a mixed-methods approach was applied to understand the interplay between numerous stakeholders and organisations at local scales. A particular interest of this research was to address practitioners’ perspectives as one of the multiple social dimensions of carbon, an area of knowledge that remains considerably underexplored. Analysis of the literature identified three emerging paradigms in sustainability governance (i) Deep Institutionalism, (ii) Stronger States, and (iii) New Sustainability Governance. In analysing blue carbon activities, while states remain the dominant actors, non-governmental organisations and civil society stakeholders are increasingly influential. These initiatives are consistent with the New Sustainability Governance model, often led by new types of institutions under a partnership umbrella, requiring new forms of leadership. Interviews with practitioners in these activities identified differentiated perspectives on blue carbon as 1) a ‘blue economy’ component; (2) an add-on for ecosystems conservation; (3) a new ecosystem service; (4) a tool for science communication, and (5) a prosperity generation mechanism. These alternative perspectives frame different understandings of carbon and highlight the indivisible link between carbon and the biocultural diverse contexts. Overall, these findings contribute a new conceptual framework on sustainability governance, enabling a deeper understanding of how these emerging paradigms influence political agenda-setting, policy, and decision-making in the context of blue carbon.