Decision Making and Governance
Governance models that emphasise the potential added value of greater direct public participation have received considerable attention within the ecosystem agenda. Many theoretical approaches are advocated but a challenge exists in translating this theory into practice within existing democratic structures. This work package aims to identify new ways of integrating progress on EAF in Ireland into institutional and policy structures.
Improving research capacity has been identified as an important part of better governance for fisheries (FAO, 2003). There is a growing awareness that for knowledge generated through research to be truly useful, it needs to be co-produced through close collaboration between researchers, policy makers and practitioners.
The challenge of an ecosystems approach to fisheries management is to realise the links between the social and natural dimensions of the system and to integrate knowledge by taking a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to science and management.
This Work Package seeks to:
- identify opportunities and limitations of current policy and legislative frameworks for the advancement of EAF in Ireland;
- identify how conflict can be resolved through new governance models that emphasise the potential added value of greater direct stakeholder involvement in the decision making process;
- identify the most appropriate levels for decentralised decisions and actions in line with the principle of subsidiarity;
- influence the development of management plans in WP 10 by recommending innovative models for participatory governance and the science policy interface;
- make recommendations on the science policy interface to ensure that project outcomes become adopted in the policy and management framework.