Fri, October 1, 2021 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM See description. Speaker: Dr. Rashid Sumaila
University Killam Professor
IOF and SPPGA
When we look around us we see the decline of renewable natural resources such as fish stocks and forests; the pollution of the environment, e.g., marine plastic pollution; and the warming, acidification, and deoxygenation of the ocean, and we wonder why? Well, in this talk and in my forthcoming book Infinity fish: Economics and the future of fish and fisheries, I argue that these depletions and destructions of nature are partly due to the way we value the environment (including our ocean and the marine life it holds) and how we value or not value all the amazing services it provides us. The lack of proper valuation of the goods and services derived from the environment is a fundamental reason why we have so far failed to take good care of the ocean (and the environment at large). It is essential that we get these valuations right, so that the ocean can, in turn, continue to take care of us. This will ensure that we achieve Infinity fish, that is, the simple idea that we must double our efforts to bequeath a healthy ocean and fisheries to our children and grandchildren so they too can have the option to do the same.
Rashid Sumaila is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia. His research focuses on bioeconomics, marine ecosystem valuation and the analysis of global issues such as fisheries subsidies, marine protected areas, illegal fishing, climate change, marine plastic pollution, and oil spills. Sumaila has experience working in fisheries and natural resource projects in Norway, Canada and the North Atlantic region, Namibia and the Southern African region, Ghana and the West African region and Hong Kong and the South China Sea. Dr. Sumaila received his Ph.D. (Economics) from the University of Bergen and his B.Sc. (Quantity Surveying) from the Ahmadu Bello University. Sumaila is widely published and cited. He won the 2017 Volvo Environment Prize and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2019.