Furqan Asif

I am an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Blue Governance at Aalborg University. As an environmental social scientist, my interest centres on human-environment relations, in particular between humans and the sea, with grounded experience in coastal livelihoods, social-ecological resilience, social well-being, and natural resource governance (e.g. fisheries and aquaculture). While initially focused on Southeast Asia, I have expanded my research to West and Northern Africa, and now, Europe.  

Research

My current research centres around two EU Horizon 2020 projects:

Shaping Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (SEAwise) - 2021 - 2025
SEAwise is a dynamic research programme aimed at understanding the current state-of-play of fisheries management across Europe, and facilitating the widespread implementation of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) in the region. Through a targeted research programme, and in close collaboration with our stakeholder network, we will work to develop a fully operational, synthesised management advice tool that highlights the benefits – or potential trade-offs – of fisheries management decisions. To do this, SEAwise will work to identify and address the key challenges currently inhibiting EBFM, including a better understanding of what makes effective fisheries management/governance.

MARINE Systems Approaches for Biodiversity Resilience and Ecosystem Sustainability (MARINE SABRES) - 2022 - 2026
MARINE SABRES brings together stakeholders from government, policy, business and coastal management, with marine scientists to co-design a simple Social-Ecological System framework to accelerate the uptake of Ecosystem-Based Management and strengthen interventions and measures for the protection and conservation of coastal and marine areas, their biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (ES). Marine SABRES will enhance formulation and support implementation of European and international marine policies, by effectively translating scientific knowledge into management and conservation action. It will enable managers to make sustainable decisions; empower citizens to engage with marine biodiversity conservation; and promote sustainable development in coastal and marine sectors, setting Europe on a course to reverse marine biodiversity decline.

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Partelow, S., Asif, F., Béné, C., Bush, S., Manlosa, A. O., Nagel, B., ... & Turchini, G. M. (2023). Aquaculture governance: five engagement arenas for sustainability transformation. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 65, 101379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101379


Asif, F., & Van Arragon, L. (2023). Precarious livelihoods at the intersection of fishing and sand mining in Cambodia. Ambio, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01963-9

Asif, F., Beckwith, L., & Ngin, C. (2023). People and politics: Urban climate resilience in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 4, 972173. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2022.972173

  • Winner of the journal's 2023 Outstanding Article Award


Asif, F., Marschke, M., and Ngin, C. (2017). Assessing the Potential of a Low-Carbon future for Cambodia. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. 9, 021404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4978495 (abstract) | Academia.edu (article)


Dissemination: cited and reported on by Cambodian media across two articles (interviewed for the second):


1. Stevens, L. (2017, April 24). Cambodia Has “Unique” Chance to Cut Carbon, Study Says. Cambodia Daily. https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-has-unique-chance-to-cut-carbon-study-says-128483/ (Archive link)

2. Stevens, L. (2017, April 27). Lack of Incentives Leaves Low-Carbon Energy in Question. Cambodia Daily. https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/lack-of-incentives-leaves-low-carbon-energy-in-question-128689/ (Archive link)


Tupper, M., Asif, F., Garces, L., and Pido, M. (2015). Evaluating the management effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas at seven selected sites in the Philippines. Marine Policy. 56:33-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.02.008 (abstract)

Book chapters

Asif, F. (2021). Human Greed Versus Human Needs: Decarbonization of the Global Economy. In: Baqir, F., and Yayya, S. (eds.) Beyond Free Market: Social Inclusion and Globalization. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003093022

Asif, F., Horlings, J., and Marschke, M. (2021). Seas of change in a coastal fishing community - Koh Sralao, Cambodia. [Community Story] In: Charles, T. (ed.) Community, conservation and livelihoods. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN; Halifax, Canada : Community Conservation Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2021.01.en

Asif, F. (2019). Redefining and localizing development in Pakistan. In: Baqir, F., Banerjee, N., and Yayya, S. (eds.) Better Spending for Localizing Global Sustainable Development Goals: Examples from the Field. Routledge.

Asif F. (2019) From Sea to City: Migration and Social Well-Being in Coastal Cambodia. In: Daniere A., Garschagen M. (eds) Urban Climate Resilience in Southeast Asia. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham.

Commissioned reports & briefs

MacClune, K., McGinn, C., Asif, F., Venkateswaran, K. (2017). Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Climate Resilience: A Guidance Paper for the Philippines. Philippines Risk Resilience Sustainability Program (RRSP). Institute for Social & Environmental Transition-International (ISET-International). http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.32606.95041

Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Canada. (March 2016).

Media

Video

Live Q&A - October 20, 2020 - Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch | The future of seafood, sustainability and aquaculture. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=419132276149909

Asif, F. (2020, February 19). Furqan Asif—How our graduate students are tackling complex societal issues? uOttawa Faculty of Social Sciences. https://youtu.be/X1k150-zpgE

Contact

Email: furqan@plan.aau.dk


Address:
Rendsburggade 14
9000, Aalborg, Denmark