Vita
2023 – today
PhD Candidate in Marine Governance at HIFMB/AWI, Oldenburg
2022
Consultant at Food and Agricultural Organization, San José, Costa Rica
2021 – 2023
Sessional lecturer at Political Science, University de Costa Rica
Researcher at Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Politicos (CIEP), Universidad de Costa Rica
2018 – 2021
MSc in Socio-Environmental Studies at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Ecuador
2018 – 2019
Student assitant. Observatory of socio-environmental conflicts in Ecuador, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Quito, Ecuador
2011 – 2016
BSc in Political Science at Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Research Interests
Hi, my name is Ale and I am from Costa Rica. My main interest is to analyze how power dynamics influence the relationships between people and the oceans. Specifically, I focus on how unequal relations of class, gender, race and ethnicity intersect with access, use and understanding of the oceans and political economy. As such, I like to think critically about ocean and coastal governance, conservation, and management as political and non-neutral processes. I am interested in paying attention to the hidden social-cultural costs of marine conservation, especially around distribution and environmental injustices.
PhD Project:
The 30 x 30 Initiative is an international campaign to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 by establishing a global network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Percentage-based targets have dominated the international marine conservation agenda, and MPAs have been the key tools for meeting those targets.
My doctoral research takes a global-local perspective, focusing on how international marine conservation targets (such as the 30 x 30 initiative) interact with fishing communities. I will specifically examine the case of Puntarenas, a coastal community on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
As part of my PhD research, I want to contribute to a growing literature that questions the role of percentage-based targets in marine biodiversity conservation. I want to problematize the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and examine their rationality and materiality. This is to conceptualize issues of justice and social distribution in marine conservation.
Highlighted Publication
Obando-Campos, Alexa, and Sara Latorre. In press. ‘Disputas Discursivas En Torno al Desarrollo Sostenible de Los Océanos: La Pesca de Arrastre de Camarón En Costa Rica’. Journal of Latin American Geography.
Obando-Campos, Alexa and Sara Latorre. In press. ‘¿Reconversión o Exclusión? Los Efectos de Las Políticas de La Economía Azul En Los Pescadores Semi-Industriales y Artesanales de Puntarenas, Costa Rica’. Latin American Perspectives.