Sustainability Science and its application to Coastal Management
Coastal & Marine Resources Centre (CMRC)
The primary objective of the CMRC is to make a significant contribution to the scientific understanding of coastal and marine environments and their management. The Centre is based in the Lewis Glucksman Marine Facility, University College Cork (UCC) which is located at the Irish Naval Base, Haulbowline. The CMRC is a multidisciplinary research group and is part of the Environmental Research Institute (http://www.ucc.ie/en/eri/) in University College Cork and its research activities cover the following four thematic areas:
- Coastal Governance (e.g. ecosystems approach, sustainability science, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, adaptation to climate change, Marine Spatial Planning, systems studies, resilience theory)
- Marine Ecology (e.g. top marine predators (mammals and seabirds) as indicator species, leatherback turtles, jellyfish, marine biotelemetry, food web interactions, biodiversity hotspots, climate change impacts, vulnerability to anthropogenic measures, population dynamics)
- Marine Geomatics (e.g. Data integration and harmonisation, interoperability, ontologies, 3D/4D visualisation, decision support systems, data modelling, metadata, Artificial Intelligence, data mining, web services)
- Coastal Processes and Seabed Mapping (living and non-living resource evaluation, acoustic mapping, mariner aggregates, costal evolution, management of coastal erosion, wave climate hind-casting and prediction, physical/human response to climate change)
Description of the position
Applications are invited for a two year postdoctoral position to conduct research into the role of Sustainability Science in coastal and marine area management. The aim of the position is to study the feasibility of applying principles of sustainability science in an Ecosystems Approach to management. The proposed approach will have with specific regard to sectors such as fisheries and ocean energy, and to themes such as climate adaptation and Integrated Coastal Zone Management. The candidate will be engaged to work on a nationally significant project – the Beaufort Project on Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), which will involve collaboration with colleagues in the Marine Institute and Queens University Belfast. The candidate will also contribute to governance work packages under the EU FP7 KnowSeas project and the EU Interreg IVB Imcore project.
Specifically, the objectives of the post are to:
- Examine the experience of sustainability science worldwide in the context of environmental and coastal resource management with a specific focus on planning for coastal communities;
- Explore the potential for applying an innovative approach to EAFM through the implementation of Sustainability Science tools and techniques and develop a Sustainability Science toolkit (including guidelines, frameworks, software and indicators);
- Scope and identify specific issues relating to collaborative enquiry at multiple levels of governance in the context of planning for coastal and marine area management.
Candidate: The Postdoctoral researcher will require the following skills profile:
- PhD in geography, environmental science or related discipline and 5-7 years relevant post doctoral experience
- Knowledge of sustainability science, adaptive management, environmental decision making and public participation
- Proven track record in dealing with stakeholder groups, industry representatives, policy makers, planners and environmental managers
- Excellent & oral and written skills, including academic publication track record
- Team working and leadership credentials
- Demonstration of project management and networking skills
- Experience in dealing with coastal and marine resource management issues will be highly desirable.
Responsibilities: Work package leader – Beaufort Project and senior researcher – KnowSeas and Imcore projects.
Reporting: Reports to CMRC director and relevant project coordinators; supports associated project PhD candidates and implements close working relationship with key partner staff.
Duration and salary: Duration is 2 years with salary between €43,000 and €50,000 (+ pension) depending on experience.
Application process: The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 28th May 2010. Candidates should submit a letter of motivation together with their curriculum vitae including at least two nominated referees via email to Grainne Lynch: grainne.lynch@ucc.ie.
