Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Power and Participation in Ocean Governance Processes: A Case of the Proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ft848z63x

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  • Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an area-based tool used to manage and protect areas along the coasts and ocean that face impacts from development and climate change. Local communities both impact and are affected by the creation of MPAs and as such, it is important to include their knowledge and perspectives in the process of creating a MPA. Scholars are calling for analyses of knowledge and power in ocean governance and its consequent effects on marginalized voices. Using political ecology as a framework in this study provides the foundation to understand how the political, economic, and social power dynamics shape access and control over marine landscapes. The first Indigenous-led proposal for a marine sanctuary within the U.S. was made in 2015 by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council in California. Using the current unfolding case of the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS) in California, this thesis aims to understand the mechanisms for including community voices in the sanctuary designation process as well as how those voices share knowledge and shape the broader communities’ understanding of this process. This research advances the literature on political ecology in marine contexts because by framing arguments about MPAs in terms of knowledge claims and connecting formal and informal institutions in this process, I am able to analyze how power is distributed in the governance of MPAs, but also how power dynamics influence the formation of MPAs and who is included (or not) in these processes. This study asks whose knowledge claims are used in MPA creation, how people are included in the designation process and how community led initiatives share and spread knowledge. Findings are generated from thematic analysis of 1,276 public comments and 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with a range of stakeholders and rightsholders along the central California coast. The findings reveal that the broader social, economic, and political climates are strong influencers in who is included in the process, why decisions are made, and for whom sanctuaries are designated. Furthermore, this study identified barriers to people’s involvement in the designation process, which are shaped by systemic and structural inequalities. Coalitions were found to be the central way organizations shared knowledge and resources, increasing the capacity of the individuals and organizations within them. This study improves our understanding of how knowledge is tied to power in the governance of MPAs and how power dynamics influence who is included in creating them. The findings emphasize the need for NOAA to rebuild broken relationships with stakeholders and provide funding and resources for communities wanting to nominate a sanctuary. These findings also shed light on the impacts of settler colonialism and how it influences Indigenous-led marine conservation efforts.
  • Keywords: Indigenous-led conservation, power dynamics, marine protected areas, political ecology
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