VENUE

The dialogues in the series will be held in hybrid mode, i.e. in-person on the ANU Campus, and virtually on zoom.

IN-PERSON: Institutes Boardroom, HC Coombs Extension Building, 9 Fellows Road, ANU, Acton, ACT, 2601.

ONLINE: Zoom. Please select the relevant ticket, in-person or online, according to your preferred attendance mode.

Governance of coral reefs and coral restoration in the Philippines

Coral restoration is an emerging technology that seeks to build on conventional approaches to coral reef management. Much work on coral restoration to date has focused on experimenting with diverse technical approaches and techniques. However, as the implementation of coral restoration increases globally, it is increasingly recognized that there is a need to better understand how to govern this emerging technology effectively, which requires assessing the social, economic, and political contexts in which reefs are restored. Coral restoration raises a series of governance challenges, including how to align the technology with local priorities and values, how to generate and monitor social and economic benefits, and how to effectively regulate it.

In this presentation, Michael Fabinyi provides an overview of a project focused on the governance of coral restoration in the Philippines, working in four sites across the country, and with policy stakeholders at the national level. The project takes an action research approach that combines social research on the factors influencing the institutional effectiveness of coral restoration, with practical programs of work to support local and national government agencies in their work to effectively manage coral reefs. In detailing the activities and outcomes of the project Fabinyi also discusses some of the challenges that take place when trying to combine applied and critical research approaches in international development.

Speaker

Michael Fabinyi is a Professor in the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney, and a Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU. He completed his PhD on fishing livelihoods in the Philippines at the ANU in 2009, and from 2010-2016 he worked at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University. His research interests are focused on coastal livelihoods, rural development and food security in coastal zones, seafood trade, and marine resource governance, and he has worked on these issues throughout the Philippines since 2005. Current projects focused on the Philippines include those on sandfish mariculture (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research); coral reef restoration and coral reef governance (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), and small-scale fisheries livelihoods (Australian Research Council).

The ANU Philippines Institute Research Seminar Series is a recurring seminar series that showcases the work of scholars working on political, social and cultural issues in the Philippines and the wider region, with the goal of encouraging greater exchange, collaboration and networking amongst the research community.

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