OVERVIEW 

Dylan is a multidisciplinary researcher with a background in environmental science and environmental law. Their research interests cover environmental democracy, disaster risk reduction, the just transition, ecosystem-based management, and offshore renewable energy.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Their current work at MaREI is as a research assistant on a project titled: Supporting Just Transition and Coexistence in Ireland’s Offshore Renewable Energy Future. The project seeks to deliver a socio-economic analysis integrating qualitative and quantitative socio-economic data which informs potential points of coexistence between existing and emerging marine uses. Community perspectives will be collected and used along with quantitative economic and ecological data to ensure the South Coast Designated Marine Area Plans are implemented to the benefit of local communities.

BACKGROUND

Dylan (BA (Hons) & LLM) has a multidisciplinary expertise in environmental science and environmental law well suited for bridging the knowledge gap between science and policy. Their master’s dissertation studied the implementation of flood disaster risk reduction policy in Ireland and was published as a working paper by UCC. In this dissertation, they identified an overreliance on structural flood defences in Ireland, undervaluing of intangible social and environmental assets, a hierarchy of expertise in the decision-making process which privileged quantitative data over community perspectives, and local dissatisfaction with the disaster risk reduction measures delivered. The findings of this research further sparked their interest in the just transition and environmental democracy, as promising policy can be rendered ineffective due to insufficient community buy in. Dylan is an early career researcher with a firm ecological knowledge underpinning their policy insights and a strong desire to ensure community participation in environmental decision-making as protected by the Aarhus Convention.