Lecturers are asked to provide in advance a brief list of topics to be covered in their presentations. The outlines received are listed below.

UNDERSTANDING CANADA(24thMay)

Jason Grek-Martin

This lecture provides an overview of Canada for non-Canadians, highlighting its physical landscapes, historical development, demographic character, political structure, and so forth.

List of topics:

  • Canada’s territorial and political structure;
  • Canada’s physical geography (physiographic, climatic and vegetation regions) and its influence on the Canadian population distribution;
  • Canada’s socio-cultural regions;
  • historical background and Canada’s territorial evolution;
  • Canada’s current demography (recent trends in terms of population growth, character and geographic distribution, natural increase vs. migration, multiculturalism as official Canadian policy); and,
  • the challenge of formulating a common Canadian identity.

Key takeaway messages:

  • Canada is a country of distinct regions, forged through physical isolation, geographic distance and a long history of uneven immigration from various regions of the world;
  • (most) Canadians are nonetheless benign nationalists who seek to forge common values and promote national cohesion as a counterweight to ingrained regionalism;
  • understanding the country’s basic characteristics of physical and human geography is essential for understanding both Canada’s regionalism and its ongoing search for a national ‘imagined community.’

INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS(25thMay)

Joanne Fraser

  • Getting to Know One Another - group introductory exercise
  • Culture as an Iceberg Model
  • Communication Challenges
  • Intercultural Communication Tips

1

THE SEA IN HUMAN HISTORY(26thMay)

David Griffiths

  • “The Sea Within” - Human biology and its roots in the sea
  • “The Oceanic Circle” - Oceanic aspects of human migration from Africa around the world
  • “Our Interdisciplinary Circle” - Ocean and coastal stakeholders
  • “Humanity and the Blue Marble” - The meaning of ocean governance

HEALTH OF THE OCEANS (29thMay)

Peter Wells

  • Introduction
  • Ocean health – definitions, principles
  • Importance of HOTO (health of the oceans,oceans and human health)
  • Linkage to ocean governance – policies, laws, regulations, etc.
  • HOTO approaches and programs
  • The Ocean Health Index (OHI)
  • GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System)
  • Issues (Stresses/Problems) identified by marine research
  • Legacy (well-known, older) issues
  • Emerging (new) issues
  • Monitoring
  • Indicators and indices
  • Examples of programs e.g. Gulfwatch, tar balls, plastics, climate change
  • Integrating the HOTO information –assessments(state of the marine environment reports), summary reports for policy makers
  • Urgent needs – action(s) by the ocean governance community
  • Useful information sources

FUNDAMENTALS OF CLIMATE CHANGE(29th May)

Alexander MacDonald

  • What is Climate Change?
  • Overview of Climate Change Science
  • Climate Change and Society
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Climate Change Mitigation
  • Overview of Climate Governance
  • Roles of governments at all levels
  • Roles for non-governmental actors
  • Climate Change, Oceans and Coastal Environments

VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE(30thMay)

Danika van Proosdij

  • Climate change impacts in coastal zone (review)
  • Components of Risk (exposure, vulnerability, hazard)
  • Adaptive Capacity & vulnerability
  • Vulnerability Assessment (components & case study)
  • Adaptation options

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS(30thMay)

Kumiko Azetsu-Scott

Accelerated increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere due to human activities (called anthropogenic CO2, mainly from fossil fuel burning,) affects the ocean by lowering its pH, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification (OA). About a quarter of anthropogenic CO2 since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s has been taken up by the oceans. This ocean’s service has slowed down the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, but there is a price to pay. CO2 dissolves in the surface water and forms carbonic acid. Consequently, ocean pH has decreased by 0.1 units over the past 200 years, which is equivalent to a 30% increase in acidity. If global emissions of CO2 continue at the present rate, ocean pH is predicted to fall an additional 0.3 units by 2100 (150% increase in acidity). “Ocean Acidification” has become a focus of active research over the last decade. Accelerated efforts to understand the extent and impact of ocean acidification are underway. Ocean acidification is a global phenomenon with variable regional and local consequences.

Mechanisms of ocean acidification, spatial temporal variability, methods used in OA research, possible effects on marine organisms and ecosystems, socio-economic impacts and mitigation and adaptation strategies will be discussed.

FUNDAMENTALS OF OCEANOGRAPHY(31st May)

Anna Metaxas

The title of my lecture is: Oceans: a Global Perspective. My aim is to illustrate some key oceanographic concepts (shown as themes below) and the provide examples of their relevance to humans (shown in brackets after each theme). The key message is one and is reflected across the lecture: The scientific information is relevant in understanding how the global ocean affects are lies and, consequently, in practicing evidence-based ocean management.

Themes to be covered:

  • Plate tectonics (what causes tsunamis)
  • Ocean circulation (relevance to climate change)
  • Productivity in the world’s oceans
  • Upwelling ecosystems (why is the fishery so productive)
  • El Niño (shutting off the upwelling)
  • Anthropgenic impacts in the deep sea (deep ocean management)

MARINE BIODIVERSITY: CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE (31stMay)

Bob Branton

Recent widespread changes in the biological diversity of life in the sea are largely due to effects of human activities. Serious concern for the conservation of marine life in the face of rapid population expansion, particularly in coastal regions, and the desire for long-term sustained use of the seas for food, mineral resources, biomedical products, recreation, and other societal needs have motivated marine ecologists and oceanographers to recognize their responsibility to document biodiversity changes and to understand their causes and consequences…

THE LAND-SEA INTERFACE(1st June)

Graham Daborn

  • The nature of an Estuary
  • Types of estuaries
  • Roles of tides and river inflow
  • Biological productivity: characteristic organisms, patterns of distribution, and relationships with tidal and other water movements
  • Biological connections between estuaries, and between terrestrial, fresh and salt water ecosystems
  • Case study: the Bay of Fundy - productivity, biological diversity and connections, human impacts (including climate change)

Fundamental message: Coastal ecosystems such as estuaries are among the most important and biologically productive ecosystems known, with huge importance to most of the world's population. Management of those coastal waters requires a sound understanding of the interactions between the terrestrial, fresh and salt water environments, recognition of their internal - and sometimes long distance - interactions, and their vulnerability to human activities.

LEGAL ASPECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE(5th June)

Meinhard Doelle

  • Brief History of UN Climate Negotiations
  • What was settled before Paris
  • Key Issues in Paris
  • Understanding the Context
  • Overview of Paris Outcome
  • Assessment of its Strength and Weaknesses

ECOSYSTEM APPROACH(6th June)

Olga Koubrak

  • Historical development of ecosystem approach in science, resource management, and international law
  • Main elements of ecosystem approach
  • Ecosystem approach to Fisheries and Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management
  • Ecosystem approach under the Convention on Biological Diversity and other multilateral environmental agreements
  • Regional application of ecosystem approach through the Regional Seas Programme and Large Marine Ecosystem projects
  • Unanswered questions and future developments

ARTICLE 76 OF UNCLOS(8th June)

Galo Carrera

  • Outer limits of the continental shelf - Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF MARITIME BOUNDARY DELIMITATION(8th June)

Galo Carrera

  • Scientific and technical aspects of the determination of outer limits of maritime spaces under national jurisdiction and international maritime boundaries.

MARITIME SECURITY(12th – 16th June)

Bob Edwards

Glen Herbert

The purpose of the maritime security module is to familiarize participants with maritime security and emergency management concepts and methodologies to protect maritime interests, counter maritime threats, and meet maritime-related obligations under international law. The module will also assist participants prepare their ocean and coastal policy document which is to be presented to the International Round Table Panel at the end of the program.

The IOI-Canada Training Program on Ocean Governance Integration Exercise 2017 materials are the basis for the maritime security policy exercise. These materials will be augmented with additional information.

Participants will use the Integrated Maritime Compliance and Enforcement (IMCE) methodology to develop an Integrated Maritime Security Policy for Sepiana. This methodology is taken from the module’s source document, Integrated Maritime Enforcement: A Handbook (IME Handbook), Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, Dalhousie University, and International Ocean Institute, February 2000.

First, they will identify Sepiana’s maritime interests, threats and obligations across the spectrum of marine activities: the protection of maritime sovereignty, countering illegal activity, the protection of the marine environment, the management of marine resources, and marine safety. This will include a risk analysis of maritime threats and challenges to determine priority areas. Next, they will identify the capabilities needed to address these maritime interests, threats and obligations in four categories: political, legal, operational/bureaucratic, and non-state/user. The final task is to develop policy objectives and implementation recommendations. A risk analysis as well as a quantitative analysis (using matrices) is included in the methodology to assist in developing well reasoned policies.

Some of the questions we will address:

  • What is maritime security?
  • What are maritime security interests? threats & challenges? obligations?
  • How do I develop a maritime security policy?
  • Is there a difference between a maritime security policy and a strategy?
  • How can navies & coast guards be used within a maritime security regime?
  • Does Sepiana need a navy? or a coast guard?

Topics will include:

  • A methodology to develop a maritime security policy – Bob Edwards
  • Navies & coast guards within a maritime security regime – Bob Edwards
  • Marine compliance & enforcement – Glen Herbert
  • Maritime security presentations from two course participants:
  • Lt Cdr Derrick Brathwaite (Executive Officer, Barbados Coast Guard)
  • Capt. Martin Sebastian (Centre Head & Senior Fellow, Centre for Maritime Security

and Diplomacy, Maritime Institute of Malaysia)

  • Emergency management in the coastal zone - Murielle Provost (TBC), David Griffiths, Dr Mélanie Fournier & Joanne Lawlor

Themes for the Maritime Security module:

  • The importance of the oceans for prosperity
  • The need for stability & order on the oceans and along the coasts for prosperity and sustainable development
  • The importance of determining what ‘capabilities’ are required – political, legal, operational & non-state/user – to protect maritime interests, prevent and counter maritime threats, and meet obligations (duties) under international law when developing maritime security policies.
  • The need for cooperative, coordinated and, where possible, integrated approaches to: protect maritime interests, prevent and counter maritime threats, and meet obligations.
  • The importance of ‘political will’ and following international law when addressing maritime security threats and challenges.
  • The maritime security principles of: understanding the maritime environment, prevention, response & recovery.
  • The need to detect and understand what is occurring off our coasts (‘maritime domain awareness’), and the necessity to respond appropriately to counter maritime security threats and support maritime interests.
  • The important role of ‘compliance’ within a maritime security regime.
  • The requirement to uphold international law.
  • The need for international cooperation.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE COASTAL ZONE(13th June)

Mélanie Fournier

  • Human security
  • Threats to human security
  • How geospatial technologies can help
  • The use of social networks during natural disasters and conflicts.

COMMUNICATION(22nd June)

Peter MacLellan

  • Communications management theory and strategies
  • Media relations
  • Government communications
  • Issues management
  • Crisis Communications Management

NEGOTIATION THEORY AND PRACTICE (23rd June)

Diana Ginn (with Hugh Williamson)

Topics:

  • What is Negotiation?
  • Complexities of Negotiating in an International Context
  • Preparation Focus- Need to become as informed as possible on:
  • Parties
  • Issues
  • Interests (what is each party trying to achieve?)
  • History of the dispute
  • Cultural, political, legal, economic context
  • Negotiators
  • Introduction to different styles of negotiation

Take away:In any negotiation, lack of preparation is the biggest obstacle to getting good results; one of the most powerful ways to prepare for good results is to prepare effectively. The more complexity, the more potential unknowns, the more need for preparation. Participants in this session will: learn about the complexities of negotiating in an international context; have an opportunity to discuss the areas in which preparation is key as well as the risks of insufficient preparation; and be introduced to different styles of negotiation, with a focus on interest-based negotiation.

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR OCEAN DEVELOPMENT (ICOD): HISTORY AND FUTURE? (23rd June)

Garry Comber

Chris Milley

  • Background to, and short history of, ICOD including its dissolution
  • The relevance of ICOD’s mandate in today’s world
  • Soliciting advice about developing country climate and ocean’s management needs from course participants.

CO-MANAGEMENT(27th June)

Claudio Aporta

  • Defining management “problems” in the context of co-management
  • Cross-cultural issues in co-management
  • Understanding communities
  • Defining citizen participation
  • Co-management as a governance framework
  • Marine Spatial Planning as a process to implement co-management

“Take away” messages: 1) co-management often involves complex cross-cultural and cross-sectoral interrelations; 2) understanding stakeholders’ ontologies is critical in co-management implementation; 3) Stakeholders’ participation can be an empty ritual if not proper mechanism in place; 4) Marine Spatial Planning as an effective process to implement co-management.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT(28th June)

Kerri Graham

  • General overview of the policy development process in government
  • An example of how this process has been used

DEVELOPMENT OF NOVA SCOTIA’S AQUACULTURE POLICY & LEGISLATION(28th June)

Brennan Goreham

  • Regulatory and policy development
  • Regulatory and policy implementation challenges
  • Stakeholder relations
  • Aquaculture development
  • Transparency and open government

INTRODUCTION TO INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN MANAGEMENT (4th July)

Lucia Fanning

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): Coastal zones are critical areas of transition between land, sea and air, involving complex overlays between natural processes, resources uses and government jurisdiction. The number and variety of uses and user groups competing for this land, sea and air space is ever-increasing, resulting in resource use conflicts that are often difficult to effectively resolve and which are further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. This three-hour module introduces participants to the role of ICZM in addressing the dilemma associated with managing coastal and marine areas and sheds light on the process associated with planning and implementing ICZM at the local, sub-national, national and regional levels.

By the end of the session, participants will be:

  • Aware of the interdependence between coastal systems and human demands of the systems.
  • Aware of the multidisciplinary nature of socio-ecological systems and the need for an interdisciplinary approach to address increasing coastal pressures.
  • Aware of some of the tools and methodologies needed to develop sound policy options for effective coastal management that draws on knowledge from multiple disciplines.

MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (4th July)

Paul Macnab

Scott Coffen-Smout

Marine Spatial Planning and Integrated Ocean Management of the Scotian Shelf / Bay of Fundy Marine Bioregion

GIS WEB MAPPING AND SIMULATION(5th July)

Mélanie Fournier

James Boxall

  • Understand the components of GIS
  • Understand the concept of layers in GIS
  • Be familiar with common GIS functions and how they relate to marine environment
  • Be familiar with common GIS data storage formats, how to make a map, legend, templates etc.
  • Understand some of the limitations of GIS

COASTAL INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT(5th July)

Bertrum MacDonald

Suzuette Soomai

James Ross

Sarah Chamberlain

Rachael Cadman

Diana Costillo

Kalene Eck

In this presentation on Information Management for Environmental Solutions, the following topics will be covered in relation to marine environmental contexts:

  • Evidence-based decision making – application and critiques
  • The science-policy interface
  • Information use in public policy development – measurement and assessment
  • Examples of research undertaken within the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program
  • Recommendations arising from the EIUI research program

This session will be presented jointly by Bertrum MacDonald and six members of the EIUI research team who will speak briefly about their research projects.

OCEAN EDUCATION, LITERACY AND AWARENESS(6th July)

Anna Naylor

  • Ocean Awareness
  • Ocean Education
  • Workforce Development
  • Need for Collaboration across Sectors

SHIPPING FUNDAMENTALS(10th July)

Jim Calvesbert

Shipping Fundamentals including:

  • basic understanding of ship operational departments and ship types;
  • certification of seafarers;
  • cargo capacities;
  • shore support requirements for cargo operations;
  • government and classification societies as they contribute to safety of shipping.

HUMAN ELEMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING(10th July)

Angus McDonald

Topic: Human Element in International, Commercial Shipping

Program:

  • Lecturer greets and welcomes participants.
  • View of commercial shipping from lecturer’s experience
  • Causes of many shipping casualties.
  • Regulatory controls; ISM Code, ISPS Code, STCW, MARPOL.
  • International responsibilities; UNCLOS, OPRC
  • Ships in trouble, Places of Refuge.
  • Human element prepares for future technology
  • Autonomous ships - benefits and dangers
  • Group workshops; related tasks for four groups
  • Analysis and discussion
  • End of session; Thank You; Good Luck in Your Careers. Safe Journeys to Your Homes

PORT GOVERNANCE AND REFORM(12th July)