Coastal Resilience Talks: Connecting disciplines through Social-Ecological Systems - By Maria Giovanna Stoppani

The Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience , in collaboration with its Partner Alliance Network (CMCC Foundation and Deltares), icontinued the Coastal Resilience Talks series with a webinar featuring Maria Giovanna Stoppani, Early-Career Ocean Professional and PhD candidate at the University of Palermo.

The session explored how the Social-Ecological System Framework can be applied in practice to connect disciplines, knowledge systems, and stakeholders in coastal and marine contexts. Drawing from a case study in Costa Grande, Guerrero (Mexico), the webinar focused on the interconnections between small-scale fisheries and sustainable tourism, highlighting both challenges and opportunities from a social-ecological perspective.

The webinar provided an early-career perspective on translating theory into practice, reflecting the DCC-CR’s ongoing commitment to supporting ECOPs through research, training, and international collaboration. The event was part of a broader joint effort by DCC-CR and its Partner Alliance Network to foster transdisciplinary approaches and empower the next generation of ocean professionals, including through initiatives such as the CREW project, of which Maria Giovanna Stoppani is a participant.

Abstract

This presentation provides an overview of an experimental, practice-based application of the Social-Ecological System Framework (SESF) from an Early-Career Ocean Professional perspective. Originally developed to respond to urgent societal needs, SESF aims to connect different knowledge systems in conservation and environmental planning, and is particularly well suited to small-scale fisheries contexts.

Through a case study in Costa Grande, Guerrero (Mexico), the webinar will illustrate how SESF can support integrated understanding of social and ecological dynamics, bridging scientific research, local ecological knowledge, and governance processes related to small-scale fisheries and sustainable tourism.

About the Speaker

Maria Giovanna Stoppani is a PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program of National Interest in Biodiversity at the University of Palermo. Her research focuses on the relationships between human communities and coastal and marine ecosystems, with particular attention to Social-Ecological System Frameworks, Small-Scale Fisheries, and Local Ecological Knowledge.

She has a strong interest in environmental justice and transdisciplinary methodologies applied to governance processes in small-scale fisheries, and is actively engaged as an Early-Career Ocean Professional in international research and collaboration initiatives.