Send message to Author

Short abstract:

When diverse interests are coordinated, certain ways of relating to and enactments of the sea are made. Contrasted with broader ethicopolitical engagements and post-anthropocentric human-nature relations, this article aims to deepen understanding of knowledge conditions in marine management.

Long abstract:

The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SWaM) is a central actor in Swedish marine management, established to coordinate actors working on common issues and with the aim of collectively managing the sea in accordance with an ecosystem approach. SWaM, being closely intertwined with coordinating various interests, produces certain ways of relating to and enactments of the sea: primarily as 'ecosystem services' for human use. These can be contrasted against ethicopolitical engagements extending beyond the ecosystem approach and discussed with differing enactments of human-nature relations. Building on this foundation, this article explores the conditions surrounding knowledge about marine issues and solutions in marine environmental management: conditions such as various views of knowledge, collaboration, technologies and other materialities, as well as valuations of and ways of relating to the sea.

Swedish marine management is organized based on management cycles of six years. During these cycles, an initial assessment is conducted to determine what constitutes good environmental status. In turn, environmental quality standards are established, along with measurable indicators to monitor the marine environment. Additionally, monitoring and action programs are developed, leading to the initiation of a new cycle. By conducting an ethnographic study on aspects of SWaM's work in generating knowledge for Swedish marine environmental management, the purpose of this article is to explore the ethicopolitical engagements that are enacted of the sea and discuss these against post-anthropocentric ontologies and epistemologies.