A Just and Blue Planet: Findings from a Systematic Review Linking Social Justice, Marine Sustainability, and the Application of Social Work Knowledge (WITHDRAWN)

Background and Purpose

     With 60% of the world’s population living within 100 kilometers of the coast, and the highest rates of urban, coastal concentration existing in least developed countries, oceans support the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished societies (WWF, 2015). In these communities, marine resources are vital for both human food and livelihood security. Approximately three billion people globally rely on fish as their primary protein source, and 500 million people living in least developed countries rely on marine ecosystems for their livelihoods (WWF, 2015). Unfortunately, inadequate global governance of this common resource has led to almost 80% of the Earth’s oceans being classified as fully- or overexploited, simultaneously threatening human security (WWF, 2015).

     As such, scientists recently identified an interdisciplinary, just, and equitable approach to marine policy as one of ocean conservation’s most pertinent challenges. Additionally, in 2015, AASWSW identified “creating social responses to a changing environment” as a grand challenge for social work. However, little interdisciplinary research exists integrating social work knowledge into marine-policy making.

Methods

     We performed a systematic review, following a Campbell Collaboration Resource Center protocol, to explore how social work evidence can be effectively integrated with other disciplinary knowledge to inform marine conservation policy, support human security, and ensure socially just conservation strategies that equitably benefit human and non-human marine populations. First, we reviewed existing social work, marine, and conservation literature (2000-2015) in 14 interdisciplinary and discipline-specific databases to identify empirical evidence for and theoretical frameworks supporting the interface of social justice issues and marine biodiversity loss. Second, we identified instances where social work evidence-based practices were applied in marine policy making decisions. We determined inclusion criteria a prioriand relevant search terms included social work, social justice, environmental justice, marine policy, ocean governance, marine sustainability, marine conservation, marine biodiversity loss, and human and ocean health among others. We considered source homogeneity prior to analysis, and used only rigorous empirical and theoretical findings, based on pre-determined criteria, to generate conclusions.

Results

     Globally, inadequate marine policies allowing unsustainable harvesting and biodiversity depletion are, and will continue to, facilitate and exacerbate pressing social justice issues facing vulnerable populations served by social work. The systematic review yielded evidence on a spectrum of social justice issues interfacing with marine sustainability, ranging from well-studied connections (e.g., food security), to lesser-studied, complicated feedback loops (e.g., transactional sex and labor trafficking). While we found evidence to support broader social science theories directing issue linkage, there was extremely limited evidence of social work knowledge being applied to policy-making decisions, despite the breadth and prevalence of social justice issues within social work research’s expertise.

Conclusions

     As the human population races toward 9.6 billion, the social and economic well-being of billions of vulnerable people globally, relies on the oceans’ sustainable management, dictated by effective governance. As a result, social work research must be included, and assert its knowledge, in marine policy-making decisions to ensure inclusivity, equality, and social justice for marginalized, at-risk populations globally and to disrupt Western privilege and domination of finite, marine resources.