/library/oar/handle/123456789/3471 2026-05-24T21:46:29Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/146301 Title: The use of influential power in ocean governance Authors: Haas, Bianca; Jaeckel, Aline; Pouponneau, Angelique; Sacedon, Randa; Singh, Gerald G.; Cisneros-Montemayor, Andrés M. Abstract: Ensuring inclusivity, especially the meaningful participation of diverse actors, is a key component of good governance. However, existing ocean governance frameworks have not yet achieved an equitable and fair playing field and are indeed often characterized by inequitable practices. In this perspective piece, we argue that one of the reasons for this lack of inclusion are the existing power frameworks and ways in which power is exercised within fora nominally intended to foster inclusion and cooperation. By focusing on four case studies of basic ocean governance processes, we explore how influential and interactive power is exercised in intergovernmental meetings, international conferences, and regional negotiations. These case studies demonstrate how specific exercises of power that undermine procedural inclusivity influence decision-making and the setting of agendas, and exclude important voices from ocean governance fora. This perspective piece contributes to the existing literature on power by highlighting how power is exercised within fundamental aspects of ocean governance. This paper merely scratches the surface, and more actions and research are needed to uncover and, more importantly, reverse deeply-rooted and self-perpetuating power structures in ocean governance. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/146104 Title: Dissonances between policy framework and customary practice in gender equality of small island developing states : the case of LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius Abstract: Despite growing international recognition of LGBTQI+ rights, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to face challenges in translating formal legal commitments into substantive equality. This dissertation examines the dissonance between State-level legal and policy frameworks and entrenched normative practices shaping the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals in Mauritius. Although Mauritius has ratified key international human rights instruments and experienced progressive judicial developments, these advances remain unevenly realised due to persistent socio-cultural, religious, and institutional barriers. Employing a qualitative research design, the study integrates legal and policy analysis with semi-structured interviews conducted with LGBTQI+ individuals to assess the alignment between legal commitments and lived realities. The findings reveal that, notwithstanding constitutional guarantees, international obligations, and limited anti-discrimination protections, LGBTQI+ persons in Mauritius continue to face marginalisation in healthcare, employment, family life, and access to justice. These exclusions are sustained not by formal customary law, but by deeply embedded normative practices, heteronormative social structures, religious conservatism, and weak institutional accountability within a small island context characterised by dense social networks and limited anonymity. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality and legal pluralism, the dissertation argues that legal reform alone is insufficient to achieve substantive equality in SIDS. Instead, meaningful change requires shifts in social norms, strengthened institutional responsiveness, and inclusive policymaking that centres marginalised LGBTQI+ voices. The study concludes with context-specific recommendations to bridge the persistent gap between policy and practice relating to LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/145975 Title: Integrating indigenous and community-based climate change adaptation in Eastern Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) : the case of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Abstract: Climate adaptation practices have been carried out by Indigenous people throughout the world for millennia (Dent et al., 2023: 3), and it has been established that they possess crucial, experiential knowledge that can form an essential aspect of equitable and sustainable climate adaptation planning and policymaking (Byskov & Hymas, 2022: 614; Cisneros-Montemayor & Ota, 2019: 318; Phong et al., 2022: 9). While the Earth’s climate was not changing with the rapidity it is currently, nor was this change anthropomorphically driven to the same extent that it is today, they were nonetheless handled by Indigenous populations as part of their evolving connection to the landscapes they inhabited. This connection is a manifestation of a relationship that has been described as loving, reciprocal, interdependent, and familial (Galway, et al., 2022: 2). This was especially the case of Indigenous people who inhabited what are traditionally referred to as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) (Hofman et al., 2021: 2). Against the backdrop of island landscapes, and as a result of specific aspects of geographic isolation and the resulting effects on ecology and biodiversity, the Indigenous inhabitants of SIDS have been attuned to signs of change and evolution, and developed their specific adaptation practices to cope. Therefore, Indigenous and community-based adaptation practices play a crucial role in building climate resilience (Middelbeek et al., 2014: 139), and such practices are endorsed by formal bodies such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2019) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 2022). This research examines the extent to which Eastern Caribbean regional and local perspectives reflect international attitudes to the integration of Indigenous and community-based climate adaptation practices, and how such integration will benefit the Indigenous population, with a specific emphasis on the territory of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/145974 Title: Agroecology and food sovereignty in small island developing states : the case of Rodrigues Island Abstract: Improving the local food production could counterbalance the severe blow on the SIDS’ food systems in the face of economic shocks or other natural catastrophes in the SIDS. Embracing more context-specific food systems would allow for discovery of solutions appropriate for each respective SIDS which could satisfy their usually time-sensitive and specific knowledge needs. Inquiring if and to which extent agroecological practices could ensure food security in the island of Rodrigues is one way to devise a form of knowledge that allows for sponsorship of the strategies of each SIDS so that they may take action to tackle their food security issues. The objective of this research is to spot and relate to local priorities in Rodrigues and consequently allow the government to make informed policies accordingly. Three research questions are put forward to attain the objective set, namely: 1) What is agroecology and how is it applied to SIDS? 2) What are the key characteristics of agroecology and how is it implemented in the context of SIDS? and 3) How and to what extent are agroecological practices implemented in the context of Rodrigues? It has long been a matter of urgency to take the bull by the horns to warrant sustainable food security in SIDS. In this respect, diminishing the dependence on food imports through the increasing of local food production has a fundamental role. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z