Joanna Zofia Vince

• PhD
• Associate Professor at University of Tasmania

On all levels of governance, there have been varied policy responses to the marine plastic pollution issue. These responses include the development of innovative waste management, circular economy, extended producer responsibility and product stewardship approaches. Non-state actors play important roles in these approaches across global and nationa...

After the second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for the Plastics Treaty meeting in Paris in June 2023, a Zero Draft of the Treaty was released for comment. Member states involved in the treaty negotiations were to respond to the Zero Draft before the third INC meeting in November 2023 in Nairobi. In this paper, we analyse the content...

Marine plastic pollution has increased exponentially despite global recognition of its impact on the environment. This chapter examines the extent of the problem and then explores the governance and socio-ecological aspects of marine plastics pollution in coastal and marine environments. We argue that well designed and implemented governance arrang...

An important aspect of policy integration is the need for policymakers to establish integrative capacity. However, very few scholars who refer to this concept have explained what integrative capacity is and what aspects of the policy process policymakers need to focus on to establish that capacity. In this paper, we define integrative capacity and...

Conflict between stakeholder groups around social and environmental issues can fragment communities and disrupt development. For the past decade, salmon farming has globally been one of the most contentious issues within the aquaculture sector. Attempts to mitigate these conflicts have often been counterproductive due to high levels of distrust acr...

Soft plastics pose significant environmental and waste management challenges in Australia and globally. As a pioneering programme that aimed to enhance soft plastic collection and recycling in Australia, the REDcycle initiative was discontinued due to the lack of adequate end markets. By integrating actor-network and sustainability transitions theo...

Nepal’s rain-fed and traditional agriculture could not satisfy the country’s increasing population and pushed many households to internal and external migration. Global warming and climate change have already stressed low-yielding agriculture and increased uncertainty. The introduction of the Foreign Employment Act in 1985 initiated a formal labor...

Many activities associated with the expanding blue economy are characterised by high complexity, uncertainty, and significant potential for environmental impacts. In a shared marine environment, these conditions can lead to conflict, with increasingly polarised debate ultimately hindering new development. Key communication determinants of this conf...

Governance systems are complex adaptive systems where multiple components interact extensively. This is the case for governance of the blue economy, focused on sustainable development of marine resources. Here, the relevant policy and legislative arrangements are fragmented, and marine uses, activities and resources are generally managed on a secto...

Integrated management (IM) has been widely proposed, but difficult to achieve in practice, and there remains the need for evaluation of examples that illustrate the practical issues that contribute to IM success or failure. This paper synthesises experiences of academics and practitioners involved in seven Australian case studies in which there hav...

Polarisation of opinions across communities can lead to social conflict, reputational damage and the disruption of operations and markets. Social influence models have been widely used to better understand processes driving conflict from a theoretical perspective. Using aquaculture as a case study, we demonstrate how such models can be extended to...

Plastic pollution has reached a crisis point due to ineffective waste management, an over-reliance on single-use plastic items and a lack of suitable plastic alternatives. The COVID-19 Pandemic has seen a dramatic increase in the use of single-use plastics including ‘COVID waste’ in the form of items specifically intended to help stop the spread of...

Single‐use plastics (SUPs) are increasingly polluting terrestrial, coastal, and marine habits, contributing to the creeping “plastic crisis.” The COVID‐19 pandemic provided a window of opportunity for decision makers to change the degree of urgency and responsiveness to this crisis and for policy entrepreneurs and industry who are against reducing...

There is an increased focus on plastic pollution and the resultant harms in our oceans and on our shores at local, regional, and global scales. New technologies are being developed and trialed, multilateral agreements are coming into play, and the role of a circular economy is increasingly touted as the key to help solve the plastic pollution crisi...

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a major contributor to ocean pollution, with extensive social, economic, and environmental impacts. However, quantitative ALDFG estimates are dated and limited in scope. To provide current global estimates, we interviewed fishers around the world about how much fishing gear they lose a...

Regardless of where plastic pollution originates, the management interventions made at the local level are crucial to the global success of reducing plastic pollution. Reduced plastic consumption and pollution have been observed in communities with plastic taxes and educational programs. However, there is currently a lack of a quantitative framewor...

Efforts to establish global environmental governance related to marine debris, including revamping the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), establishing new marine ‘areas beyond national jurisdiction’ (ABNJ) regimes (De Santo, 2018), and promulgating a global treaty committing states to reduce plastic usage and waste, are proli...

Community conflict is increasingly associated with commercial uses of the marine environment. This research investigates the evolution of newspaper coverage of finfish aquaculture over a 25-year period and how it has reflected growing levels of community conflict common to much of the world’s salmon aquaculture production. A detailed case study sug...

This chapter examines uncertainty and ‘multiplicity’ in the massive and growing challenge for global marine governance of plastic pollution. Plastic pollution in the oceans and seas is having long-term impacts on marine organisms and ecosystems, yet there are few effective strategies for dealing with that pollution. Importantly, much of the problem...

Global aquaculture production has expanded rapidly over the past decade, accompanied by an increase in community concerns. In Tasmania, Australia, this trend has resulted in successive Federal and state government inquires into salmon farming. Submissions to these inquires have been used to analyse increasing polarisation of stakeholder attitudes a...

The concentration of human population along coastlines has far-reaching effects on ocean and societal health. The oceans provide benefits to humans such as food, coastal protection and improved mental well-being, but can also impact negatively via natural disasters. At the same time, humans influence ocean health, for example, via coastal developme...

In the age of the Anthropocene, the ocean has typically been viewed as a sink for pollution. Pollution is varied, ranging from human-made plastics and pharmaceutical compounds, to human-altered abiotic factors, such as sediment and nutrient runoff. As global population, wealth and resource consumption continue to grow, so too does the amount of pot...

Abandoned, Lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) comprises a significant part of global marine plastic pollution, with adverse consequences for fishers, the seafood industry, and marine wildlife and habitats. To effectively prevent and reduce ALDFG at source, an understanding of the major causes of and drivers behind fishing gear losses...

Rapid and transformational actions are ever more urgently needed to achieve a just, resilient, and ecologically sustainable global society, as envisioned and supported by the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, dynamic governance approaches are vital for addressing changing and uncertain conditions. At many levels, governance needs to be respo...

Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) represents a major sea-based source of marine debris globally, with far-reaching socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Estimates of the amount of ALDFG entering the ocean have implications for managers and policy makers as they work to tailor solutions at scale. While scientists have wo...

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a viral archive—an archaeological record of history in the making. One aspect of this archive is increased environmental pollution, not least through the discarded facemasks and gloves that characterise the pandemic. This article—directed specifically at archaeologists—argues that an archaeological perspective on ‘...

The ocean economy is experiencing rapid growth that will provide benefits but will also pose environmental and social risks. With limited space and degraded resources in coastal areas, offshore waters will be a particular focus of Blue Economy expansion over the next decade. When emerging and established economic sectors expand in offshore waters (...

Ocean governance is complex and influenced by multiple drivers and actors with different worldviews and goals. While governance encompasses many elements, in this paper we focus on the processes that operate within and between states, civil society and local communities, and the market, including industry. Specifically, in this paper, we address th...

Illegal fishing is a widespread, global phenomenon that is affecting already heavily depleted wild fish stocks, threatening marine habitats and contributing to marine pollution through discarded fishing gear. Many different measures have been implemented by nation states to deter and prevent illegal fishing. These include coastal surveillance and p...

URL: https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/document/primary-microplastics-marine-environment-scale-issue-sources-pathways-and-current-policy

Ecosystem based management, spatial orientation, a multilevel policy framework and integration have all been identified as essential components of effective marine spatial planning (MSP). Integration has been noted by researchers and through international forums as being essential to achieve effective oceans governance. However, integrated policy a...

Bottled water is one sector of the beverage industry that has recently experienced substantial growth. The littering of plastic water bottles and the carbon emissions produced from bottled water production results in harmful effects on the environment. To reduce the harm of bottled water production and litter, government and non-government organisa...

Ecosystem based management, spatial orientation, a multilevel policy framework and integration have all been identified as essential components of effective marine spatial planning (MSP). Integration has been noted by researchers and through international forums as being essential to achieve effective oceans governance. However, integrated policy a...

Migration management in the South Asia region is an increasingly important issue because of its increasing share in migration stock and remittances inflow. Since the 1970s, the majority of migrants in this region prefer to go to the Gulf countries to deploy the largest workers. Similarly, South Asian countries have received an increasing amount of...

Certification and third party accreditation schemes are examples of private-social partnerships that make up a form of hybrid governance. We argue that hybrid governance is changing the way traditional governance is being utilised. In this paper we examine the rise of third party certification and the challenges these governance arrangements bring...

Climate Change and Ocean Governance - edited by Paul G. Harris February 2019

Third party certification organizations provide opportunities for market and community/non-state actors to collaborate with minimal state involvement. This new hybrid form of collaborative governance raises questions about accountability and responsibilities of private-social partnerships and the challenges to policy implementation. Emerging market...

Marine plastic debris has evolved from being a problem to a cross-cutting crisis impacting natural and human environments across the world. Holistic approaches are needed to address the multifaceted, wide-spread and complex nature of this issue. We argue that a new global governance approach is essential, however, it needs to be aligned with interd...

Climate change, in combination with population growth, is placing increasing pressure on the world’s oceans and their resources. This is threatening sustainability and societal wellbeing. Responding to these complex and synergistic challenges requires holistic management arrangements. To this end, ecosystem-based management (EBM) promises much by r...

In 1998 the Australian government released Australia’s Oceans Policy. The oceans policy was a policy experiment that attempted new and untried methods of policy implementation through ecosystem based management approaches. However, the government’s initial goal to achieve ‘full’ integration across sectors and jurisdictions was never achieved. This...

Plastic pollution has become the new millennium's tragedy of the commons. This is particularly true with the marine debris plastic pollution issue, which has seen significant global interest recently. There is long-standing acknowledgment of the difficulty in managing the commons, with regulations, economic and market based instruments and communit...

Marine plastic pollution has become the new millennium’s tragedy of the ocean commons, a complex collective action problem with dire ecological and social consequences. There is long-standing acknowledgement of the difficulty in managing the commons, with regulation, economic and market based instruments, and community-based solutions all having a...

The development of third party assessment and certification of fisheries and aquaculture has provided new forms of governance in sectors that were traditionally dominated by state based regulation. Emerging market based approaches are driven by shareholder expectations as well as commitment to corporate social responsibility, whereas community enga...

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is now widely accepted as the best means of managing the complex interactions in marine systems. However, progress towards implementing and operationalizing it has been slow. We take a pragmatic approach to EBM. Our simple definition is balancing human activities and environmental stewardship in a multiple-use conte...

Multifaceted problems such as sustainable development typically involve complex arrangements of institutions and instruments and the subject of how best to design and operate such 'mixes', 'bundles' or 'portfolios' of policy tools is an ongoing issue in this area. One aspect of this question is that some mixes are more difficult to design and opera...

The process through which societal actors can exert direct influence on the behaviour of organizations has gained increasing attention over the past two decades and is increasingly referred to as ‘social licence’ or ‘social licence to operate’. This paper documents the rise of social licence and analyses the relationship between information and com...

Oceans were a key theme of the Rio+20 Conference in 2012 and the importance of conservation and sustainable use of the oceans was reinforced by the UN member states. This paper examines Australia’s policy capacity to develop and implement oceans policies in the context of its history of responses to key commitments to international forums, such as...

Plastic pollution in the marine and coastal environment is a challenging restoration and governance issue. Similar to many environmental problems, marine plastic pollution is transboundary and therefore the governance solutions are complex. Although the marine environment is unlikely to return to the condition it was in before the "plastic era," it...

Governments have struggled to successfully implement large-scale integrated policy approaches, often resulting in policy failure. However, there has been little investigation into why this is the case. This paper links the discourse on policy failure and integrated policy approaches and identifies what aspects of ‘integration’ cause failure. It arg...

Australian ocean governance faces the challenge of sustaining a balance between marine resource use and conservation while dealing with pressing threats resulting from climate change such as sea level rise, fisheries food security, IUU fishing and ocean acidification. Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a way forward for dealing with these challenges...

Oceans were a key theme of the Rio+20 Conference in 2012 and the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans was reinforced by the UN member states in The Future We Want agreement. During Rio+20, the Australian delegation focussed on achievements in oceans governance, such as the development of a National System of Marine Prote...

Comprehensive multidisciplinary analysis of Australia's marine resource management challenges Australia's marine resources are now worth more than the gross value of all Australian agricultural production. Their multifaceted nature, and the human use of them, present increasing challenges for marine resource managers in Australia. Written by recog...

Launceston, Tasmania’s second largest municipality, has been recognised as a floodprone area since the first major inundation was recorded in 1828. Following a one in forty year flood event in 1969, the areas susceptible to flooding were protected by a levee system which has been maintained and funded by the Launceston City Council (LCC) and the Ta...

In March 2000, New Zealand began the development of a national oceans policy. The oceans policy has weathered a number of challenges, most notably the dispute between Maori and the Crown over title to coastal land and water. This dispute stalled the development process in mid 2003 until work recommenced in November 2005. This paper analyses develop...

The last decade has seen increasing attention to institutional arrangements and policy outcomes affecting the governance of the world's seas and oceans. Governance is linked to institutional capacity and to the effectiveness of public organizations drawing attention to tools and approaches underpinning effective and efficient institutional arrangem...

The release of Australia’s Oceans Policy in 1998 was recognised in Australia and internationally as a milestone in marine resource management. The policy outlined a new, national approach for ecosystem-based ocean management. It also sought to integrate sectoral and jurisdictional interests through the establishment of new institutions and the adop...

This paper examines how residents living in a flood plain perceive risk. Sixty residents in Invermay/Inveresk in Launceston, Tasmania, were interviewed in a study conducted by Launceston City Council and the University of Tasmania to identify their level of worry, flood preparedness and risk communication strategies. In order to explore ideas of vo...

Oceans Governance in the Twenty-first Century analyses the development of national, regional and international initiatives and arrangements directed towards governance of the world's seas and oceans. The authors examine those factors that shape oceans governance, as well as the supports and constraints affecting policy development and implementati...

This article examines policy transfer as an important mechanism for policy change in oceans governance. Since it entered into force in 1994, the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) has obligated signatories to demonstrate that they can effectively manage the resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). This article focuses primarily on the...

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities continue to thrive in the northern region of Australia's Fishing Zone (AFZ). Indonesian fishermen involved in IUU fishing in this area target specific marine species such as shark, reef fish, sea cucumber and trochus that are destined for the Asian market. Many of these marine species’ st...

In 1998, the Australian Government released Australia's Oceans Policy (AOP), a world first policy initiative focused on providing a framework for integrated ecosystem-based management of Australia's vast marine domain. The South East Regional Marine Plan, the first regional marine plan to be implemented under AOP, was released on 21 May 2004. This...