Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
The University of Lincoln has a history of safeguarding life below water, including contributing to the legal frameworks that protect the ocean and improving our understanding of how coastal processes both respond to climate change and help communities adapt to it.
Academics from across the University have been involved in submitting reports to the EU Environment Sub-Committee on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and appeared as experts at the Expert Group Meeting on the UNODC Legislative Guide on Crimes in the Fisheries Sector.
Research Spotlight
The Lincoln Centre for Ecological Justice conducts research that will deliver new understandings of the types of changes and governance measures needed to turn the Anthropocene from an era of high risk for society and the environment to one in which the needs of all are met.
The University’s contribution to the legal frameworks that protect the ocean is exemplified by the work of Professors Richard Barnes and Elizabeth Kirk.
Professor Richard Barnes
Professor Barnes is a Professor of International Law with expertise in marine law and ocean environments. He has worked on or led a number of research projects which include, Evolving a Circular Plastics Economy, Climate Change and European Aquatic Resources, and Cumulative Effects of Offshore Developments. Since 2016, he has appeared before Parliamentary committees on numerous occasions to give evidence on the fisheries aspects of Brexit.
Professor Elizabeth Kirk
Professor Elizabeth Kirk, Global Professor in Global Governance and Ecological Justice, is an expert in environmental law who researches the factors that contribute to legal frameworks, adhered to by states, companies, and individuals. She has had significant impact on the goals described under SDG 14 through her work to develop a global plastics treaty to help to reduce the scourge of plastics entering our ocean ecosystems, and through her work on the sustainable and fair use of marine genetic resources. She is working with Daniel Akrofi an international legal and sustainability consultant currently pursuing doctoral research in international law and global governance at the University of Lincoln, with a particular focus on the law around global plastic pollution.
Meet PhD student Daniel Akrofi, who is currently pursuing doctoral research in international law and global governance at Lincoln, exploring a number of sustainability issues across the full lifecycle of plastics to analyse the law around global plastic pollution.
Also working on International Law of the Sea is Dr Mercedes Rosello, whose research seeks to understand how weaknesses in the law contribute to governance problems in regions where overfishing is chronic. Her work is supported by the Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust through two studentships working on the Impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Fisheries Subsidies Agreement for Indonesia.
University of Lincoln academics are engaged in an array of research groups which are linked to the environment. Their research has wide reaching aims, from protecting the environment for future generations to understanding ecology and evolution.
The research group considers catchments and coasts as interconnected and integrated systems, which are critically important to understand the outcomes of climate change and human impacts, such as land-use change, for rivers, catchments, and coastal zones.
According to SciVal our colleagues produced 5 outputs relevant to SDG 14 in 2022 and 11 in 2023.
Kiesel, J. et al. (2022) . Can Managed Realignment Buffer Extreme Surges? The Relationship Between Marsh Width, Vegetation Cover and Surge Attenuation. Estuaries and Coasts 45 345-362
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12237-021-00984-5
Kemp et al. (2023) The future of marine fisheries management and conservation in the United Kingdom: Lessons learnt from over 100 years of biased policy. Marine Policy 147
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X22001221
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.