Parsons M, Taylor L and Crease R (2021). Sustainability 13(8), 4217. Open access
Indigenous people; environmental justice; marine governance; ecosystem-based management; marine protected areas; marine spatial planning; co-governance and co-management; Indigenous Knowledge; food security; Indigenous fisheries
We applied a systematic review methodology to identify and understand the ways in which the peer-reviewed academic research literature characterises Indigenous peoples’ involvement in marine governance and management approaches in terms of equity and justice around the globe.
We reviewed the peer-reviewed English-language research articles for examples of Indigenous peoples’ involvement in marine governance and management using the analytical lens of environmental justice.
The majority of studies highlighted that Indigenous peoples experienced some form of environmental injustice linked to existing governance and management approaches, most notably in the context of inequitable decision-making processes within marine spatial planning and marine protected areas.
A small but growing body of research suggests that collaborative co-governance and co-management approaches, including ecosystem-based management, can address Indigenous environmental justice through greater recognition of Indigenous knowledge and procedural equity.
However, there are large gaps in the current peer-reviewed literature on Indigenous peoples’ participation in marine and coastal management, planning and governance regimes across Asia, Russia, the Arctic, and Africa.