Queenette Nwariaku
Thesis title: Investigating Institutional Interactions in the Small-Scale Fisheries Governance of Nigeria
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) governance in countries of the Global South, such as Nigeria, operate within a context of multilevel legal pluralism, where state-led laws and policies on fish extraction coexist with customary laws and systems. As a result, SSF governance in these contexts is shaped by cultural, political, and socio-legal factors. Investigations into how these factors affect institutional interactions within these contexts have generated understanding of the adaptation or ‘bricolage’ of institutions. However, there remains a gap in experience and knowledge on SSF governance and interaction between SSF institutions within a context of multilevel legal pluralism. Queenette’s research addresses this gap by conducting an institutional analysis of natural resource governance to generate much-needed empirical evidence on SSF governance in West Africa. Using a case study research design focused on Nigeria’s multi-layered legal landscape, and grounded in an Institutional Ethnography theoretical framework, this research provides an in-depth exploration of how institutions interact and evolve in response to overlapping governance systems.
Biography
Queenette Nwariaku is a 2nd year ESRC-funded PhD student in the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham. She has with over 10 years of interdisciplinary skills and experience within the public and private sectors in Africa and Europe in the areas of sustainability and environmental policy, governance and compliance advisory (legal and regulatory), project management, litigation, research, and academia. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Abia State University, Uturu, a Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School, and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Lagos. She also obtained an MSc in Environment, Development, and Politics (with Distinction) from the University of Birmingham, under the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship, and an MA in Social Research from the University of Birmingham, under the 1 + 3 ESRC Midlands DTP Studentship scheme. Her primary research interests lie at the intersection of the institutional arrangements surrounding renewable natural resources in low-income countries, environmental law and governance, and livelihoods and development in Africa.
Other Research Interests
Climate Change, Energy Transition, Political Economy of Development, Conflict and Development, Sustainable Development
Area Studies
University of Birmingham
2023 Cohort, 1+3
https://www.linkedin.com/in/queenette-nwariaku
Supervisory team
Prof Fiona Nunan
Dr Walters Nsoh
Dr Nathalie Raunet