Dr Pamela Buchan

Personal statement:

I am an interdisciplinary researcher at Exeter University, working in the broad field of marine social science. My goal is to transform humanity’s relationship with the ocean towards sustainability and I work towards this goal with her research and public roles.

I am a former Plymouth City Councillor, current Vice Chair of Devon & Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, and Cattewater Harbour Commissioner in Plymouth. I am a Director of Labour: Coast & Country, member of the Ocean Literacy Working Group, and the founding author of the Local Government Ocean Recovery Declaration.  

Key topic areas of research or interest:

My research contributes to transformation of the human-ocean relationship by investigating marine citizenship, marine governance and decision-making, and psychological factors and place relationships that influence how people connect to and use the sea. My research is informed by fields as diverse as human geography, environmental psychology, marine sciences, corporate governance, environmental law, and green [blue] politics.

I collaborate with The Crown Estate, the Marine Management Organisation, Natural England, and the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park to embed marine citizenship principles into marine governance and practice.

Collaboration opportunities:

Open to collaborations and consultancy subject to capacity. Always interested to hear from people and organisations interested in marine social science.

Lead editor of RGS Journal Geo theme ‘The Place and Politics of Marine Governance’, which is open to articles in non-traditional formats and with non-academic co-authors. Find out more: https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20544049/marinegovernance

Publications:

Non-academic: 

• University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Trends in board practice: Insights from our Initial Exploratory Research (Phase 1, Part 3). Cambridge, UK:
• University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Future of Boards Foundation and Methodology (Phase 1, Part 1) Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
  https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/resources/publications/future-of-boards
• Buchan, P.M. (2021), Citizens of the Sea – a PhD thesis summary report.
• Buchan, P.M. & Bradshaw, N. (2022) Evaluating Coastal Partnerships: Report to the Coastal Partnerships Network (CPN) Championing Coastal Coordination ‘3Cs’ National Framework.
• Buchan, P.M. (2019), We can all be citizens of the sea. In Plymouth White Papers: Marine. Office of Luke Pollard MP, Plymouth, former Shadow Secretary of State for DEFRA. 

Academic: 

• Buchan, P.M., Pieraccini, M., Barr, S. and Evans, L. (2023) Marine citizenship: participating in the transformation of the human-ocean relationship for sustainability.
• Evans, L., Buchan, P.M., Fortnam, M., Honig, M. and Heaps, L. (2023) Putting coastal communities at the center of a sustainable blue economy: A review of risks, opportunities, and strategies. 
• Buchan, P.M. (2022) Transformation through participation: democratising the human-ocean relationship.  
• Buchan, P.M. & Yates, K.L. (2019) Stakeholder dynamics, perceptions and representation in a regional coastal partnership. Marine Policy 101:125-136.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17308254