What We Do
Coastal Community Resilience and Adaptation
Across Oceania, coastal and island communities are building new governance and management approaches in response to rising sea levels, invasive species, and other threats to their lifeways and livelihoods.
Our research considers how hybridized institutions, traditional ecological knowledge, and Indigenous-led approaches can support adaptation and resilience across the Pacific. We examine the local social-ecological systems, and the innovative ways that communities are strengthening their relationship with the ever-changing seas.
Blue Food Sovereignty and Security
Ocean fisheries are one of the few wild food staples of human diets today. Seafoods provide critical nutritional value while their harvest connects people with the more-than-human world.
We explore and document the beyond-market contributions of fishing practices. Fishing and food-sharing are ways in which people strengthen bonds, build social networks, and transmit knowledge and culture across generations. We are interested in the characteristics, motivations, and practices of recreational and subsistence fishers, limu (seaweed) harvesters, and loko i'a (fish pond) restoration volunteers. The goal of this research is to identify specific policy recommendations for improving the long-term sustainability of near shore fisheries and the well-being of local communities.
Community-Engaged Research
We work in partnership with communities and local organizations to produce research that is meaningful to the people who use and live in marine environments.
Opportunities
Our lab is located in/ Aia ko makou ke'ena hana i Kaupō, Waimānalo ahupua'a, Ko'olaupoko, O'ahu..
Our lab is currently accepting applications for MSMS students. Undergraduate students can join our Research Practicum (MARS 3950, offered in Fall) to learn environmental social science methods and participate in community research projects on O'ahu.
We are especially seeking students who speak ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Gagana Samoa, and other Indigenous languages of the Pacific.
Contact Dr. Quimby at bquimby at hpu.edu if you are interested.