A 2030 VISION FOR INDO-PACIFIC SHARKS AND RAYS
Shark Search Indo-Pacific's initial projects will produce species checklists and overviews for each country and territory in Indo-Pacific. While this will take several years to accomplish, the checklists and country overviews are the starting points for a long-term applied research and conservation program to develop a regional knowledge base for these species, and begin to deliver transformative local projects on coastal sharks and rays across the Indo-Pacific Region by 2030.
In keeping with our Research Approach and Values, this long-term program will be based on delivering collaborative, multi-disciplinary and user-driven projects that provide useful science and information, and support real conservation outcomes for the sustainable use and preservation of sharks and rays and their values for Indo-Pacific Peoples.
The Long-term Program Plan includes details about partnership building processes and a catalog of prospective research projects and capacity building activities that can be selected through engagement and prioritization processes with in-country end users. Using the checklists and status overviews (Phase I) as a reference point, an SSIP team will work with in-country partners through integrative social and organisational research (Phase II) to build a clear picture of the local aspirations, needs and context. This Phase II process will also clearly link potential projects to objectives, and provide clear "line of sight" to overarching strategies such as the Noumea Strategy, the Global Shark and Ray Initiative and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14. This integrative research provides the road map for a Shark Search Implementation Plan [Stage III] that describes specific projects and activities needed to achieve the goals and objectives described unearthed during the Phase II process.
As a multi-disciplinary programme, the SSIP Implementation Plans are likely to involve projects around four inter-related themes:
People and Places
Threats and Opportunities
Working within complex socio-ecological systems is challenging. That is why SSIP projects will be developed by multi-disciplinary teams that explicitly consider the social, cultural, economic, political and environmental contexts of each specific project and location. SSIP projects will use inclusive and innovative approaches such as Human Centred Design and Prosociality to ensure that projects actually deliver meaningful and lasting outcomes.
Shark Search Indo-Pacific is a long-term research and conservation program that aims to establish collaborative and transformative projects on sharks and rays across the Indo-Pacific Region (see map above) to the year 2030
Image by Eric Gaba – Wikimedia Commons user: Sting
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