New Funded PhD Studentship Marine Environmental Law

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates to undertake research leading to the award of PhD and addressing an appropriate aspect of The Evolving Legal Framework for Marine Biodiversity in Ireland.

This opportunity has been made possible by funding generously awarded by the Marine Institute to the Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy (MaREI) and the School of Law, University College Cork for the Navigate project on Ocean law and Marine Governance.

The Navigate project aims to support and enable efficient and effective governance of the Irish marine area through a focused research programme over the next four years.

This research covers a number of key themes that will address, for example, the potential implications of Brexit for Irish marine management; climate-proofing national and sectoral strategies for marine resources; implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Maritime Spatial Planning and achieving overall policy coherence from design to implementation.

The Navigate project, and by association the proposed PhD studentship, will facilitate proactive engagement with emerging developments in marine law and governance; strengthen national capacity in marine law and ocean governance; and deliver on national policy objectives such as those contained in Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth.

The proposed PhD project will focus on a pertinent aspect of the evolving legal framework for marine biodiversity in Ireland. This comes at a time when the governance framework for biodiversity, in all its forms, is undergoing change and refinement through international, EU and national law and policy.

The UN General Assembly has recently adopted a resolution to convene negotiations for an international treaty to protect the marine environments of the high seas. At EU level, Member States are required to include Marine Protected Areas within their programme of measures under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, as well as over-arching aims to maintain biodiversity and ensure populations of all commercially exploited fish and shellfish are maintained within safe biological limits. The National Biodiversity Plan 2017-2021 recognises that the country’s MPA network is in need of extension.

Essential Criteria

  • Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) degree (or equivalent).
  • Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject matter.
  • Sound understanding of the subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal.

The successful candidate will receive a four-year Ph.D. studentship consisting of a bursary of €18,000 per annum and all doctoral registration fees, and will benefit from working within a multi-disciplinary team made up of researchers from MaREI and the School of Law.

Applications will be accepted until 30th April 2018. There is some scope to adjust the start date to accommodate individual circumstances. Applicants should submit their application (incl. CV, cover letter, outline research proposal) to Prof Owen McIntyre via email – ei.ccu@erytnicm.o