Research Interests

Research Focus

My research is focused on marine ecosystem governance issues, with a particular focus on those raised by marine protected area and marine spatial planning initiatives as a means of achieving biodiversity and fisheries conservation objectives. It is both inter-disciplinary, crossing social-natural sciences, and translational, bringing theoretical perspectives to real challenges, contributing to both theories and practices. In terms of environmental sociology, rather than adopting a structure or agency approach to analysing governance issues, my research adopts a realist institutional analysis approach, whereby the interactions between structure and agency and their co-evolution are the focus. In terms of environmental governance, my research challenges the widely held view that people-focused (neo-institutional) and/or market-focused (neoliberal) approaches should be the focus of governance. My empirical work on marine ecosystem governance is premised on arguments that a combination of governance approaches is required, and that state-focused (neo-Hobbesian) approaches are also of critical importance. My research is recognised as challenging the current dominance of neo-institutional and neoliberal views, employing empirical analyses of marine protected area and marine spatial planning governance case studies to support the argument that whilst both people and market-focused governance approaches are important, the state plays a key role in steering markets and people, and that the state’s role is critically important if strategic conservation objectives and obligations are to be fulfilled and institutuional resilience to the potentially perturbing effects of driving forces is to be developed.

Current Research Projects

Marine protected area governance (MPAG)

This research began when I started my part-time PhD in 1991 (completed 1997) and is ongoing. It recently culminated in the UNEP Technical Report Governing Marine Protected Areas: getting the balance right. Whilst there is currently a range of guidance available on how to manage marine protected areas (MPAs), there is less guidance available that considers MPAs from a governance perspective. This perspective poses a key question – how do we combine top-down, bottom-up and market approaches for reaching and implementing decisions in order to achieve effective and equitable MPAs? It is widely accepted that all three approaches are important, but how might they be combined in different MPA contexts? To tackle this question a new partnership, led by Dr Peter Jones, amongst a group of governance experts and MPA planners and managers has been initiated to analyse MPA case studies and develop guidance on governing MPAs in seas under national jurisdiction. 20 MPA case study from around the world have been brought together in the preliminary phase and subjected to detailed analysis employing a new governance analysis framework, ‘deconstructing’ the complexities of MPA governance employing 40 incentives from five categories. The report describes the findings of this work. It is intended to provide a foundation for further research and learning, employing the governance analysis framework in different contexts on a meta-analysis basis, and providing a preliminary resource for MPA managers to consider how different incentives might be combined to support the governance of their MPA. Report and supporting material available at MPAG website. Also, see discussion of this report in MPAs News; Nature news feature 'Ocean Conservation: uncertain sanctuary' discusses some of the findings of the UNEP report on Governing Marine Protected Areas and the editorial of this issue of Nature discusses this news feature: 'Troubled Waters'

Montoring and evaluation of spatially managed marine areas (MESMA)

November 2009 - October 2013. Dr Peter Jones is part of this consortium of researchers around the EU that has been awarded a EUR 6,569K (UCL EUR 666K) grant under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme. This major study will play a key role in the development and implementation of European policies on marine ecosystem-based management, particularly through marine spatial planning and marine protected area initiatives under the Marine Strategy Directive and the Habitats Directive. It will also lead to major contributions to relevant theories/literatures on implementing the ecosystem-based approach to managing our seas. Dr Jones is leading the overarching work programme on governance issues, that will analyse different approaches to implementing marine spatial planning, including through marine protected areas. The project is led by the Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies (IMARES, The Netherlands) and involves 18 research organisations from 12 EU and related countries. This project is very relevant to the development and implementation of marine spatial planning (MSP) that is being promoted around the UK through the Marine and Coastal Access Act.

• MESMA website
• MESMA video
• Working Paper on emergence of EU policy landscape for marine spatial planning

European version of The Science of Marine Reserves, working group for which co-chaired by Peter Jones (download from PISCO website)

Current PhD Students

Minsuk Jun - An analysis of different perspectives on MPA designation processes in California.

Christina Geijer - Connecting the nodes: an analysis of MPA networks for migratory whale conservation.

Lucia Perez - An analysis of different perspectives on the social and economic impacts of the Wakatobi and Karimunjawa Marine National Parks, Indonesia.

List of my previous research projects on the theme of governing MPAs, including list of former PhD students

List of papers, etc arising from my research

Research related activities

MMO Appointee to the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority

Advisor to the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas/Marine Programme and the UNEP Marine Ecosystems programme on marine protected area governance issues (since November 2007)

DG Fisheries: Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) sub-group: Evaluation of Closed Areas (SGMOS) (March – Oct 2007)

Marine Science Technical Advisory Group, English Nature (Dec 2003 – July 2006);

Reviewer of marine research proposals/reports for DEFRA, NERC, Natural England, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society, and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Also review book proposals related to marine ecosystem governance for publishers, particularly Earthscan.

Reviewer of deep sea fisheries assessments for the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) (March 2008).

International Editorial Board Member: Marine Policy (since January 2004). Manuscript reviewer for AMBIO; Aquatic Conservation; Biological Conservation; Coastal Management; Conservation Biology; Environmental Conservation; Environmental Policy and Governance; Journal of Environmental Assessment, Policy and Management; Journal of Environmental Management; Journal of Environmental Planning and Management; Oryx; The Geographical Journal; Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.