Prof. Michael Fabinyi1, Dr Christopher Cvitanovic, Prof Kate Barclay, Dr Nathan Bennett, Dr Edward Chan, Hanh Nguyen, Dr Stefan Partelow, Dr Annie Song, Dr Dirk Steenbergen, Bianca Suarez, Dr Maria Tanyag
1University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Michael Fabinyi uses theories and methods from the social sciences to understand the social, political and cultural aspects of marine resource use and management. Research interests include coastal livelihoods, agrarian change, food security in coastal contexts, seafood trade and fisheries governance. Current funded projects include ones on sandfish mariculture, coral reef restoration and coral reef governance in the Philippines (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), small-scale fisheries governance in the Philippines (Australian Research Council Discovery); edible bird's nest trade in Indonesia (Australian Research Council Linkage); China's role in global fisheries (Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Centre).
Abstract:
Maritime security is an increasingly used concept, but while notably described as a ‘buzzword’ that encompasses a range of concepts, approaches and definitions, its traditional definitions lack sufficient consideration of contemporary issues, and of human and ecological security. We propose a refined approach to maritime security that centres human and ecological perspectives, addressing contemporary social and ecological challenges through four principles: participation and pluralism, autonomy and agency, equity and justice, and coherence and coordination. Our holistic approach bridges the gap between state-centric views, the needs of coastal communities, and ocean sustainability, with the aim of making maritime security more equitable and responsive to diverse challenges. We illustrate the value of this approach through a case study of the securitisation of small-scale fisheries across the Asia-Pacific region.