Meet Mat Rosa, GFDD/FUNGLODE Fellow Researching Governance Profiles of Institutional Arrangements for Climate Change Adaptation

The Fellows Program, an initiative of GFDD and FUNGLODE, is pleased to announce the fellowship of our most recent scholar, Mat Rosa, Masters candidate in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Mat’s research focuses on governance profiles of institutional arrangements for climate
change adaptation. This research will be conducted over the first four months of 2014 in the southern province of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Through the program, Mat will connect with professionals in his field conducting work on the environment and climate change in order to collect data for his research.

About Mat Rosa
Mat Rosa is an adjunct faculty of International Development at the University of Rhode
Island (URI) and program leader of a URI study abroad course in the Dominican Republic. He holds a BA in Politics from St. Anselm College, an MA in Political Science from URI, and is currently a candidate for a Masters of Marine Affairs at URI.

In addition, Mat has experience leading a range of NGOs throughout the world. This includes directing organizations focused on
indigenous community development, marine protected areas, skills training for at-risk youth, sailing for people with disabilities, and monumental public art for ocean awareness.

His varied occupations have included running a mountain guide business, and being a professional bicycle-taxi driver. He has also sailed schooners, yachts and commercial vessels throughout the Atlantic, and is a licensed captain. When not in the classroom or researching in the tropics, Mat enjoys
fixing up and riding old clunker bicycles, brewing India Pale Ale beer, and the Boston Bruins.

About the Research
Mat’s concentration is on Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in developing states. His research will focus on governance profiles of institutional arrangements for climate change adaptation. His current project in the Dominican Republic involves interviewing key stakeholders and researching legislation
pertinent to climate change adaptation planning for coastal resources in the southern province of Santo Domingo. The initial round of research and information he gathered in January 2014 will produce baseline data of current governance indicators in the Dominican Republic for future evaluation of the evolving strategy for protecting their coastal resources from the impacts of climate change.

Mat will realize his fellowship under the guidance of several in-country experts
in the Dominican Republic, including professionals at the Climate Change Council at the Dominican Ministry of the Environment, and his US advisor, Dr. Stephen B. Olsen, Director Emeritus of the Coastal Resources Center, recognized internationally as a leader in the theory and practice of the ecosystem approach to coastal and ocean management.

About the Fellows Program
The Fellows Program was created in 2009 to respond to
the  desire of GFDD and FUNGLODE to develop a community of scholars that contributes to the Foundations’ growing body of research on matters of international concern that directly impact the Dominican Republic, complementing the overall mission of GFDD and FUNGLODE to promote academic exchange, generate scholarship, and influence the creation of public policy related to economic and social development both at the national and international level.

Through The Fellows Program, GFDD and FUNGLODE seek to generate scholarship on issues at the forefront of the United Nations’ agenda in order to give voice to national and regional concerns and offer viable solutions to domestic and international challenges.

The Fellows Program provides opportunities for M.S., M.A. and Ph.D. candidates interested in conducting high-level research in the Dominican Republic on issues related to sustainable development.
The final output of the investigation is a comprehensive report which includes empirical data. Fellows realize research in coordination with GFDD and FUNGLODE staff, National Advisor and their university professors. Fellows that carry-out exemplary work have the opportunity to present their findings before the United Nations community on behalf of GFDD and FUNGLODE.

Related Link:
www.drfellowsprogram.org