{"id":19745,"date":"2021-03-11T11:58:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T16:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/?page_id=19745"},"modified":"2026-03-11T15:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:08:26","slug":"march-2021-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/uci\/newsletters\/march-2021-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"March 2021 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Newsletter<\/h2>\n

March 2021<\/h3>\n

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<\/a>\u2018Global Fisheries Governance and Social Justice\u2019 Online Panel April 8 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"The Monmouth University Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and UCI will host the free expert panel discussion \u201cGlobal Fisheries Governance and Social Justice\u201d on April 8 from noon to 1:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

The panel will address the intersection of fisheries governance and social justice in different contexts around the world. Panelists will discuss the use of area-based management tools to support sustainable small-scale fisheries in Latin America, the response to illegal fishing in regional Indian Ocean governance, and how to promote social equity in ocean governance to help coastal indigenous communities adapt to environmental impacts to the oceans. The event is the latest edition of the IGU-UCI Global Ocean Governance Lecture Series<\/a>, which assembles international experts to discuss scientific and policy issues that hold important implications for coastal and marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Speakers will include University of Washington School of Marine & Environmental Affairs Research Assistant Professor Yoshitaka Ota<\/strong>, Environmental Law Institute Ocean Program Director Xiao Recio-Blanco<\/strong>, and University of Western Australia Professor of Environmental Law Erika Techera<\/strong>. The discussion will be moderated by Rechnitz Family\/UCI Endowed Chair in Marine Environmental Law and Policy Randall Abate, who also serves as director of the IGU. Biographies of each speaker can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The event will be held online via Zoom. Attendees will receive an email with the link upon registration. For more information, email Prof. Abate at rabate@monmouth.edu.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Adolf to Lead Governor\u2019s Harmful Algal Bloom Expert Team <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Monmouth University Endowed Associate Professor of Marine Science Jason Adolf has been selected to lead a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Expert Team formed to provide guidance to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on HAB prevention, mitigation and management for the state\u2019s lakes and other waterbodies.<\/p>\n

Through an initiative launched by Gov. Phil Murphy<\/a>, the NJDEP Division of Water Monitoring and Standards and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium recruited Adolf and nine other cyanobacterial HAB and lake management experts to help build the state\u2019s capacity for HAB response. The team will complete a comprehensive literature review on the prevention and treatment of HABs, examine HAB and water quality data, and develop guidance documents for New Jersey lake managers that include best management practices for the prevention and management of HABs.<\/p>\n

The team will also provide technical advice and reviews on proposed mitigation technologies for lakes and review the progress of NJDEP-funded HAB mitigation grant projects. Additionally, the team will develop a HAB lake management training program for NJDEP staff and interested stakeholders and conduct training workshops at various locations in the state. More information on HABs in New Jersey and the governor\u2019s initiative can be found at nj.gov\/dep\/hab\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The HAB issue gained increased statewide attention in 2019, when lengthy closures at the summer tourism destinations of Lake Hopatcong and Greenwood Lake strained local economies. In an op-ed<\/a> published by New Jersey news outlets at the time, Adolf warned that the situation could have been far worse, as toxin levels remained relatively low in the lakes even though HAB biomass was elevated. However, he wrote that \u201cit is only a matter of time before our luck runs out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impacts of humans, including excess nutrient loading to lakes, elevated CO2 levels and rising water temperatures due to climate change, will not only ensure the reoccurrence of these blooms but stack the odds in favor of them becoming toxic and a far more menacing public health threat than what we currently see in New Jersey,\u201d Adolf wrote. \u201cResearch into these linkages must play an important role in directing actions for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adolf coordinates the Coastal Lakes Observing Network<\/a> (CLONet), an innovative citizen science effort that is building a greater understanding of the prevalence and causes of HABs in Deal Lake, Fletcher Lake, Lake Como, Lake Takanassee, Silver Lake, Spring Lake, Sylvan Lake, Sunset Lake, Wesley Lake and Wreck Pond. Adolf runs the Phytoplankton and Harmful Algal Bloom research lab (PHABLab) at Monmouth University, where he is also working with undergraduates to study HABs in Monmouth County surfing beaches and waterways including Sandy Hook and Raritan bays and the Shrewsbury and Navesink river watersheds.<\/p>\n

He joined Monmouth in 2017 after nine years at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where he served as the chair and associate professor of marine science. Adolf, whose research background is in the field of phytoplankton ecology and evolution, has made significant contributions to the literature in the area of HABs. Before going to Hilo, he spent five years at the University of Maryland Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, conducting HAB research that included Chesapeake Bay; the Swan River Estuary in Perth, Western Australia; and the Plymouth Culture Collection of the Marine Biological Association of the U.K.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Student Researcher Examines Climate Change Communication in India <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Graduate student Lisha Samuel recently completed a paper detailing her fall research on climate change communication in the city of Kolkata, India. Rechnitz Family\/Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law Randall Abate served as a faculty mentor and the project was supported with funding from the UCI.<\/p>\n

We caught up with Lisha recently to ask a few questions about her takeaways from the project. Read what she had to say and download a copy of her paper below. You can also watch this video<\/a> of her talk on the topic from Monmouth University\u2019s fall Climate Teach-In.<\/p>\n

Paper Title:<\/strong> Climate Change Communication in Kolkata: Applying Communication Theories to Address the Threat of Climate Change Displacement<\/a><\/p>\n

Student Researcher: <\/strong>Lisha Samuel<\/p>\n

Year and Major: <\/strong>Graduated December 2020 with a master\u2019s degree in communication<\/p>\n

Q: What interested you in exploring the topic of climate change communication and why did you choose Kolkata, India, as a case study?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Climate change communication is a fairly a new topic. I have always been interested in climate change and my background in communications was a great fit as I wanted to conduct research on the Indian media and use communication theories for my proposal. My reason for choosing Kolkata was because I grew up in India and understand India\u2019s mindset towards climate change. I wanted to learn more about India\u2019s approach to climate change and how the coastal communities were being affected. Kolkata is the second largest city in India after Mumbai (where I grew up). It was a valuable focus for the paper because it is a city that is surrounded by rivers and is the fourth most vulnerable city in India to sea-level rise.<\/p>\n

Q: Your paper notes that you found many \u201cmissing links\u201d in climate change communication in India. What were some of the most significant and what risks might those gaps pose for the populace of vulnerable areas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two major gaps in climate change communication in India. The first is a language barrier because most news coverage is conducted by English-language newspapers. In India, different states speak different languages; therefore, vulnerable populations that do not speak English do not receive appropriate information and warnings about climate change threats. The second gap is the Indian mindset on climate change. Indians believe that climate change is a Western concept and that they are being burdened with a responsibility that should be shouldered by Western developed nations. Due in part to the Indian\u2019s government failure to recognize the importance of climate change policies, only 7% of the Indian population knows what climate change is. The coastal vulnerable areas are facing severe challenges due sea-level rise; however, they lack the resources or knowledge to adapt to these impacts, including the threat of forced migration.<\/p>\n

Q: What do you believe can be done to improve climate change communication in Kolkata?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The media can be a very effective mechanism to increase climate change communication in India. Incorporating an agenda to report climate change and tell the public compelling stories about climate change impacts would help increase awareness of climate change. Using All India Radio (radio available throughout India), creating more animated short documentaries, increasing the number of trained journalists, and engaging popular Bollywood actors and cricketers would facilitate this necessary transition in communicating the imminent threat of climate change in Kolkata.<\/p>\n

Knowing the Flow: Current Meter Technology Testing<\/h2>\n