TD workshop, May 20-23 in Shizuoka, Japan

Why transdisciplinary approach? The transdisciplinary (TD) approach argues that the problems and priorities in fisheries, ocean and environmental governance require a broadening of perspectives that cut across academic disciplines, bridge division between scientific and local knowledge, and bring about innovation in teaching and learning. This is especially the case where small-scale fisheries play a prominent role in the production and supply of fish and seafood, as well as in supporting livelihoods and providing jobs to the local communities.

TBTI transdisciplinary training: The objective of this unique training, developed by TBTI, is to expose participants to a range of issues, challenges and concerns related to fisheries, ocean and environmental sustainability, especially those affecting small-scale fisheries, as well as to deepen the understanding about their causes and effects, and to broaden the perspective about how to address them.

Structure: The TD training workshop includes a series of lectures on theories and main concepts, such as transdisciplinarity, wicked problems, stakeholders, governance, governability, and sustainability, accompanied by exercises and practical to facilitate learning. Participants will be working in small groups to analyze the case studies using the frameworks learned, including stakeholder analysis, institutional analysis, and governability assessment. All lectures and exercises will be done in English.

Target group: The 4-day workshop consists of a series of lectures, accompanied by exercises and practical to facilitate learning. The workshop in Shizuoka is co-hosted by Tokai University and is organized in conjunction with the Marine Socio-Ecological Systems symposium (MSEAS 2020), which will take from May 25-29 in Yokohama, Japan, in order to facilitate participation of scientists, practitioners, students and others who are already planning to attend the MSEAS 2020. The training workshop is, however, opened to anyone interested in learning about transdisciplinarity and keen to promote TD practices to support sustainable small-scale fisheries, and for fisheries and ocean sustainability broadly.  Background and knowledge about fisheries, ocean and environmental issues are required. Participants will be asked to present a ‘case study’ on the issue(s) that they are dealing with or would like to resolve.

Cost:  There is no lecture fee and the teaching/learning materials will be provided to the participants free of charge. Lunches and breaks will be covered by the workshop organizers. Participants are expected to cover their own travel, accommodations, visa arrangements and meals (breakfast and dinner) not covered during the workshop. There will be a cost of about USD30 for the field trip (transportation and meals), which will be collected as cash at the workshop. More information about recommended accommodations with different price range, plus other logistics, will be provided to interested participants. Note that the majority of accommodations will require taking public transit to the workshop venue

Facilitators: The workshop will be facilitated by a team of researchers and instructors associated with TBTI, who have a broad range of expertise on fisheries and ocean governance. The book “Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice“ (Chuenpagdee & Jentoft (eds) (2018) will be used as the main textbook.

Ratana Chuenpagdee, Project Director, TBTI, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Yinji Li, Associate Professor, School of Marine Science and Technology at Tokai University, Japan