News

On April 12 and 13, 2013, students in the Marine Affairs Program will host "Sustainable Oceans 2013" in the Kenneth C. Rowe Building at Dalhousie University.

April 12 – Keynote speaker, panel, poster session, 6:00-9:00pm
April 13 – Oral presentations, posters, workshop, 8:30am-5:00pm

The environmental, social and economic concerns that plague our oceans and those who depend upon their ongoing well-being are numerous and complex. With this realization, we have come to recognize that the solutions will not be simple. Particularly in this time of fiscal austerity and with the current political climate in Canada, wherein we have seen extensive changes to many Canadian environmental policies and legislation including the Fisheries Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act, and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, questions arise as to how best we can encourage responsible ocean management and development.

Conference Aim: An overarching theme for Sustainable Oceans 2013 is “Connecting the science, policy, and public spheres”. As such, the student-led conference aims to build bridges by bringing people together – voices from all sectors – so that we can collaboratively develop a strong voice to identify challenges currently undermining sustainable ocean management in Canada and determine potential solutions.

Each component of the conference will provide a platform to discuss how communication/collaboration is facilitated or impeded within the field of ocean management with specific attention to three themes: 1) responsible industry practices, 2) stakeholder engagement/public participation, and 3) communicating information for effective ocean governance. 

Download the Second Call for Abstracts

Download the Abstract Submission Form

For further information, please contact the conference organizers at OceansConf@dal.ca

This conference is possible thanks to the Sobey Fund for Oceans (SFO), a unique partnership between Dalhousie’s Marine Affairs Program and WWF Canada. The goal of this partnership is to inspire inventive multi-disciplinary approaches for creating healthy oceans and sustainable economies through scholarships, work placements and student led activities.