Xinyan Lin

I have been fortunate to work on a variety of local and global environmental governance issues, from forestry management to air pollution control, from marine plastics reduction to space debris removal. Each case has unique social-environmental dynamics that requires different governance model that optimizes collect actions from a variety of social groups. Recently I have had the privilege of joining the coasts and commons co-laboratory as a PhD student to sharpen my analytical skills of governance models and develop an in-depth understanding of the issue of coastal and marine conservation under the mentorship of Professor Xavier Basurto. I will start with the case of China – my home country, from the issue of community fishery management in particular, with questions of how private and state actors institutionalize to manage marine resource; how has the relationship among the social groups evolved overtime; and what can be done to enhance the capacity of these social groups to better address marine conservation challenges.

Besides research, I serve as the Coordinator of China Marine Funders Alliance, a network that seeks to enhance philanthropy’s ability to support China’s progress towards its marine ecocivilization goals through shared learning, collaboration, and coordination among foundations. Prior, I worked as a Programme Associate with the Environment Programme of Oak Foundation. I completed a master’s degree in international affairs from Graduate Institute Geneva in Switzerland, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental management from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan.