https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/3472 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:41:55 GMT 2026-04-30T20:41:55Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145820 Title: Engaging the tropical majority to make ocean governance and science more equitable and effective Authors: Spalding, Ana K.; Grorud-Colvert, Kirsten; Allison, Edward H.; Amon, Diva J.; Collin, Rachel; de Vos, Asha; Friedlander, Alan M.; Mana’oakamai Johnson, Steven; Mayorga, Juan; Paris, Claire B.; Scott, Cinda; Suman, Daniel O.; Cisneros-Montemayor, Andrés M.; Estradivari; Giron-Nava, Alfredo; Gurney, Georgina G.; Harris, Jean M.; Hicks, Christina; Mangubhai, Sangeeta; Micheli, Fiorenza; Naggea, Josheena; Obura, David; Palacios-Abrantes, Juliano; Pouponneau, Angelique; Thurber, Rebecca Vega Abstract: How can ocean governance and science be made more equitable and effective? The majority of the world’s ocean-dependent people live in low to middle-income countries in the tropics (i.e., the ‘tropical majority’). Yet the ocean governance agenda is set largely on the basis of scientific knowledge, funding, and institutions from high-income nations in temperate zones. These externally driven approaches undermine the equity and effectiveness of current solutions and hinder leadership by the tropical majority, who are well positioned to activate evidence-based and context-specific solutions to ocean-sustainability challenges. Here, we draw together diverse perspectives from the tropics to propose four actions for transformational change that are grounded in perspectives, experiences, and knowledge from the tropics: 1. Center equity in ocean governance, 2. Reconnect people and the ocean, 3. Redefine ocean literacy, and 4. Decolonize ocean research. These actions are critical to ensuring a leading role for the tropical majority in maintaining thriving ocean societies and ecosystems. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145820 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143662 Title: Mapping traditional and local knowledge to foster climate change adaptation : the case of cultural heritage in small islands Authors: Sobral Pombo, Pedro Manuel; Moncada, Stefano Abstract: This chapter shares the research and methodologies of the Heritage Ecologies project, based at the Islands and Small States Institute (ISSI) of the University of Malta and funded by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action programme (grant agreement No. 101090288). Fully titled “Heritage Ecologies: Culture, resilience and development in island states,” this project investigates how cultural heritages are impacted by climate change and the role played by heritage and local knowledge in promoting climate change adaptation and sustaining social and environmental resiliencies, focusing on insular geographies.; By adopting the term “ecologies,” we aim to highlight the relational aspects connecting cultural heritage, in its multiple expressions and materialities, environmental histories, and sustainable futures. Curiously, the concept of heritage ecologies is equally used, although with a different focus, in the title of the book edited by Bangstad and Pétursdóttir. Here the authors use the concept to express “an ecological understanding of heritage” and it involves “human and other-than-human actors” (Bangstad & Þóra Pétursdóttir, 2021). For our research, the interconnections, and interdependence, between culture and environment are central. [excerpt] Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143662 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141308 Title: Measuring governance performance across countries according to four global databases : a focus on small states Authors: Briguglio, Lino Abstract: The objective of this paper is mainly to assess the governance scores of small states on four well-known global indices, comparing such scores with those of larger countries. In doing so, the paper briefly discusses the meaning of governance and compares the four global indices with each other. In this analysis, small states are considered to be those with a population of 2 million or less. One of the findings of this study is that the four indices show that small states, on average, tend to register higher scores when compared to other categories of countries, but there is a wide dispersion of government scores within each country category, in all four indices. The paper concludes, therefore, that one cannot argue that small countrysize is necessarily a factor leading to better or worse governance simply by averaging the governance across scores. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141308 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140704 Title: United States-Caribbean trade relations : geopolitical challenges, economic dynamics and policy pathways Authors: Dookeran, Winston; Valenciano, Andres; Perroti, Daniel E. Abstract: The U.S.-Caribbean relationship sits at a crossroads. As power shifts to a multipolar world, Caribbean states are moving from dependency to strategic multi-alignment to protect autonomy and widen partnerships. Despite decades of trade preferences, economies remain narrow and vulnerable to shocks; COVID-19 has accelerated the pivot. We offer a six-pillar framework - export diversification, regional integration, and institutional strengthening among them - to recalibrate ties while honouring sovereignty. The analysis shows how small states can reshape partnerships for stability and shared prosperity, and how renewed U.S.–Caribbean cooperation can build regional resilience in an interdependent era. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140704 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z