Nathan J. Bennett
Nathan J. Bennett, postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries’ OceanCanada Partnership, has won the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)’s 2018 Early Career Conservationist award.
Dr. Bennett was nominated by SCB’s Social Sciences Working Group, and won for his leadership in advancing the role of social science in conservation policy. SCB noted that his research had provided critical insights into the role of indigenous people in conservation in Canada, the relationship between small-scale fishers and marine protected areas in Thailand and the Mediterranean Sea, and the effective and equitable governance of marine protected areas globally.
His nominators said of him: “Dr. Bennett is exceptional in his leadership skills and ability to bring diverse stakeholders, academics and policy makers together to discuss important conservation issues. Further, he has made extensive efforts to help further the incorporation of social science and human dimensions considerations in global conservation policy and practice.” One also called him a “talented and dedicated early-career scholar, [who] has done more for conservation governance than any early (let alone later) scholars than I know or can imagine.”
Dr. Rashid Sumaila, Director of the OceanCanada Partnership, said “Nathan is energetic, enthusiastic and full of ideas. He is already making a big impact, bringing social science to the forefront of conservation deliberations. This award is a great recognition, and an opportunity for him to continue his important work.”
Said Dr. Bennett of the win, “This award really is a great honour. Through my research, I examine the relationship between human society and the coastal and ocean environment. I try to understand how people connect with and rely on the ocean, the challenges that small-scale fishers and coastal communities are facing in a rapidly changing world, and how to take the rights, needs and aspirations of coastal peoples into account in marine management and policy. The social sciences provide a rigorous approach to integrating human dimension considerations into policy and practice. This will help produce more equitable and robust solutions to the marine conservation and ocean governance challenges that we face in the 21st century.”
Dr. Bennett will receive his award at the North American Congress for Conservation Biology (NACCB) in Toronto in late July, 2018.
Tags: Awards, Conservation, Faculty, Indigenous fisheries, IOF postdoctoral fellows, Nathan Bennett, OceanCanada, Rashid Sumaila