Dr Rossella Alba has been appointed junior professor of Marine Policy and Management at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) in a joint procedure between the University of Oldenburg, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). Previously, she worked at Humboldt University in Berlin as a postdoctoral researcher.
Alba studied International Land and Water Management at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. In 2021, she received her PhD in human geography from the University of Trier, before taking up her research position in Berlin. She then moved to Berlin.
Alba’s research examines how oceans and coastal areas are managed in ways that are environmentally sustainable and fair. She studies how rules and laws define what activities are allowed at sea and how these rules are put into practice. She also looks at how different organizations — including international agencies, government departments, and community initiatives — make decisions about ocean use and protection. A central focus of her work is identifying whose knowledge and interests are considered in these decisions and whose are often left out. Her research contributes to the development of practical tools and regulations for the long-term, sustainable management of the oceans.