One Realm: Thinking Geoethically and Guiding Small-Scale Fisheries?

Abstract

This essay explores common features of the ‘FAO Guidelines for small-scale fisheries’ and ‘geoethical thinking’ (geoethics). These two approaches to governability stem from communities/environments that habitually do not interact. Small-scale fisheries are socio-environmental systems heavily pressured by anthropogenic global change. The FAO Guidelines for small-scale fisheries propose how to address this challenge. The concept of geoethics has emerged amongst geoscientists as a way of thinking to understand the societal implications of geoscience professions. When comparing these approaches, they both turn out to be actor-centric and aim to further a path/context-dependent development that respects interests of all actors mutually. Supposedly, such guidance to handle socio-environmental systems may also apply to other communities/environments. To that end, ‘geoethical thinking’ may offer a helpful ‘meta-order’. In turn, geoscientists may like to enrich geoethics from experiences outside their community, e.g. from managing small-scale fisheries.