Title: ‘Harnessing the Blue Economy for communities and ecosystems’.
Bio: Dr Bill Kaye-Blake (NZIER) is a researcher and consultant focused on people, systems and change. Core to his work are three things: the resilience of people in communities, the impacts of innovation, and the process of decision-making. In addition to publishing in academic journals, he co-wrote the book Heartland Strong: How rural New Zealand can change and thrive for a policy audience.
Bill is a Principal Economist with the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research and an Honorary Associate Professor at Lincoln University. He is a former Chief Economist for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has a PhD from Lincoln University in New Zealand, and his academic training has included the arts, social sciences and physical sciences. Originally from the United States, Bill is now based in Central Otago and works with colleagues, organisations and communities around New Zealand.
Seminar Summary: In New Zealand, the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge has supported research on the Blue Economy, ecosystem-based management, and the role of Māori (indigenous) concepts and frameworks in defining and managing marine areas. Now in its synthesis stage, the Challenge initiated a synthesis project on ‘the Blue Economy in place’ to gather the three research strands and connect them to the activities of specific communities. The project first isolated two key considerations from the Blue Economy research in the Challenge: ‘desire’ and ‘institutions’. It is now seeking to understand how they operate in local communities. How can desire be made to function as a driver of engagement for the benefit of the economy, the environment and te ao Māori? What institutions are necessary to direct benefits toward communities, ecosystems, and Māori stakeholders? The seminar will describe the work in progress.
