DIRECTOR: Dr. Martin Arvad Nicolaisen
AIM/OUTCOME
The aim of this work package is to identify key factors affecting current sustainability efforts at Tema Port, along with new measures necessary to ensure that future environmental sustainability initiatives at Tema Port achieve genuine sustainable solutions rather than displacements of problems from the port itself onto other areas, including both marine surroundings and maritime hinterlands. Political considerations often characterize the process, which may cause delays or hamper the outcome. The challenges are multiple, and WP3 approaches them at various analytical levels with the following study components:
1) A mapping of key Tema maritime stakeholders’ definition of their own areas of authority and responsibility in regards to environmental sustainability and greening of the port.
2) A study of the movement, processing and management of maritime waste material from port areas to the hinterlands, focused on the linkages between the formal and informal sectors of the local economy in regards to environmental sustainability efforts.
3) A study on the role of affirmative action in achieving port competitivenesss by showing that women do not have to be ‘honorary’ men to succeed in the maritime space but offer differential resources from men that can be useful to achieving competitive advantage.
HOW (METHODOLOGY)
We use both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. We will collect data on the perspectives, understandings, and applications of sustainability across thefull range of Tema’s maritime sector, from strategic to operational level. The institutional envisioning of current boundaries for environmental responsibilities and solutions will be explored through in-depth interviews with key representatives of both port and national authorities, as well as both large and small shipping business stakeholders. A one-year extensive on-site ethnographic fieldwork will be conducted within Tema Port, where key participants will include members of the ‘borla’ group. We will “follow the waste” from the ships and the port through observations, local port user social media channels, and resources from the SSC on water and waste water in Tema.
