Queenette Nwariaku

Investigating Institutional Interactions in the Small-Scale Fisheries Governance of Nigeria

Queenette NwariakuSupervisors: Professor Fiona Nunan and Dr. Walters Nsoh

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 ESRC-funded 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.

Qualifications

  • Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) (Advance HE)
  • MA, Social Research (University of Birmingham) – ESRC-funded
  • MSc, Environment, Development and Politics (University of Birmingham) - Funded under the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship
  • LLM – Master of Laws (University of Lagos)
  • BL - Qualifying Certificate for Call to the Nigerian Bar (Nigerian Law School)
  • LLB – Bachelor of Laws (Abia State University)

Biography

Queenette has over 10 years of professional experience across the public and private sectors in Africa and Europe, in the field of sustainability and environmental policy, governance advisory, legal and regulatory compliance, project management, litigation, research, and academia.

Some of her notable roles include serving on various United Nations–supported projects on climate change, maritime crime, and terrorism as a Federal Prosecutor with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja. She also co-developed a regional fisheries co-management report for the Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in support of their Blue Economy Strategy. She also supported high-level dialogues on climate action, sustainability, and policy innovation at the 2022 Forum for Global Challenges and contributed to developing a compendium of solutions addressing global sustainability challenges.

Queenette has also engaged in global climate advocacy as a Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassador with the World Bank’s Connect4Climate and the Global Youth Climate Network (GYCN), where she advocated for stronger sustainability policies at national and international levels. As a member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Now Generation Network (NGN), she actively engages in high-level policy discussions on governance and sustainable development across Africa.

Teaching Responsibilities


  •  Pathways to Research (Department of Political Science and International Studies)
  • Academic Writing, and Information Search Skills (Academic Skills Centre, Library Services)

 

Contact

Email: qcn199@student.bham.ac.uk