PREP4BLUE article “Planning for citizen participation in the EU Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”
A new PREP4BLUE article led by MaREI’s David Whyte and co-authored by Aoife Deane “Planning for citizen participation in the EU Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” has just been published in Maritime Studies.
The study “Mission Ocean & Waters” wants to achieve in relation to citizen participation, what the potential barriers might be, and how they might be overcome. It found that what Mission Ocean & Waters is trying to achieve is quite unique. It is superficially an environmental project, but the way it tries to achieve its aims – e.g. by establishing deliberative democratic initiatives, increasing social inclusion through its activities, and working with the European Investment Bank to unlock funding for marine restoration – make it potentially as much a political, social and economic transformation as an environmental.
The research suggests that between now and 2030, the Mission should focus on the following to ensure it achieves its citizen participation goals: (1) Increasing social inclusion and avoiding tokenism, (2) Increasing ocean literacy and Mission awareness, (3) Addressing disparities across the EU in formal ways for citizens to participate in policymaking, and (4) Strengthening aquatic citizen science.
