Abstract:

This project seeks to understand where, why and with what social-ecological consequences international conflicts over shared fish stocks occur. The project merges global-scale database analyses with case study approaches to combine the strength of global descriptive understandings of conflicts with in-depth analytical insights. The findings are then combined with existing scenarios for climate change, will be used to explore high-risk areas for future conflict. This understanding will enable the development of recommendations on how to cope with and adapt to change, how to reduce the risk of conflict, and increase the prospects for sustainable, equitable use of shared marine resources.

Bio: Jessica Spijkers is a cotutelle PhD student enrolled at both the Stockholm Resilience Center and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (James Cook University, Australia). She is also a Nereus fellow, which means she is part of the collaborative Nereus program between six leading marine science institutes with the aim of undertaking research that advances our comprehensive understandings of the global ocean systems across the natural and social sciences, from oceanography and marine ecology to fisheries economics and impacts on coastal communities. She holds a Master in European Studies (completed at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) and a Master in Social-Ecological Resilience for Sustainable Development (completed at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden).