About PaCE

Peace and Conservation of Ecology at Disputed Seas (PaCE)

The South China Sea or West Philippine Sea (SCS/WPS) forms part of the Coral Triangle with high marine biodiversity. It is also a highly contested maritime area with overlapping claims by Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This maritime route between the Indo-Pacific and Europe is of major importance for external trade of European countries, such as Germany, with 40 percent of its external trade passing through this route. As claimant states intensify efforts to assert territorial control through infrastructure development and military patrols, marine biodiversity and resource-dependent local communities are seemingly negatively affected.

Context

Peace and Conservation of Ecology at Disputed Seas (PaCE)brings together a transnational and interdisciplinary group of researchers with Southeast Asia geographical expertise to assess the ecological and socio-economic impacts of geopolitical conflict in the SCS/WPS on biodiversity, regional trade systems, and the livelihoods of coastal and neighbouring communities. The overarching goal of PaCE is to demonstrate the high transformative potential of peacebuilding to safeguard biodiversity and improve local livelihoods especially in highly disputed areas such as the SCS/WPS. The project will:

Objectives

Identify direct and indirect interdependencies between marine biodiversity and different sectors in claimant countries of the SCS/WPS;
Assess the degree of interconnection between biodiversity loss and geopolitical conflict in the SCS/WPS (notwithstanding lack of baseline data and confounding factors such as climate change); and
Examine the role of science diplomacy in leveraging peace for transformative change towards biodiversity conservation, human well-being, and justice within the SCS/WPS region.

PaCE will holistically address the biodiversity and geopolitical issue of the SCS/WPS from an interdisciplinary multi-scalar and multi-stakeholder research perspective through the following work packages:

Work packages

Interdependence between biodiversity and socio-economic and human well-being

Interconnections of biodiversity loss and geopolitical conflict in the SCS/WPS

Science diplomacy and peacebuilding for the biodiversity conservation in the SCS/WPS

Our logo

The PaCE logo reflects the interconnectedness of marine biodiversity, coastal livelihoods, and geopolitical conflict in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea.

The traditional fishing boat with fisherfolk, fishing net, and fish elements represent a social-ecological system composed of coastal communities, marine resources, and the politics surrounding the region’s rich biodiversity. Meanwhile, the sea depicted through shades of blue reflects the shared nature of the marine environment.