Prof Ian Bryceson

Ian Bryceson is Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. 

Ian's research focus is on marine and coastal ecology, coastal fisheries and aquaculture, which he conceptualises within framings of resilience, vulnerability, political ecology and people's struggles for their rights. The geographical focus of his research is Eastern Africa, the Western Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and Scandinavia.

Ian grew up in Tanzania, studied oceanography at the University of Washington (BSc, 1971) and marine ecology at the University of Dar es Salaam (PhD, 1977). He worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (1972 to 1982). He was a guest researcher in marine ecology at the University of Oslo from 1982, then briefly left academia to work with salmon aquaculture in Bergen for five years and then as Senior Environmental Adviser in NORAD for five years. Ian achieved full Professor status at the University of Bergen in 1993, and was then appointed full Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 1996, and he has worked there until today. He has supervised multiple Master's and Doctoral theses and has acted as supervisor and external examiner for PhD theses at universities in Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Britain and Australia. Ian was automatically retired in 2020, but he continues actively with research, teaching and supervision of theses as Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He also has ongoing six-year cooperation with universities in Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø. He teaches regularly at the University of Stockholm (postgraduate political ecology) and other universities, and he currently co-supervises several PhD students at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique. 

Ian has been based in Norway since 1982, and has returned to Tanzania every year (except in 2020 due to Covid-19) in connection multiple parallel research and educational programmes. He has published extensively in scientific articles, chapters, books and videos. A full curriculum vitae, with 175 publications listed, is available upon request. 

Ian has also served on multiple advisory committees, including the Roster of Experts on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity (CBD), FAO Advisory Committee on Fishery Research (ACFR), IUCN programme on Marine Biodiversity, the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO, the FAO International Reference Group on Impact of Trade in Fishery Products on Food Security, Steering Committee of Norwegian Fisheries Research Forum, the Programme Committee on Marine Science for Management (WIOMSA), Review Committee of UNESCO's Major Science Programmes, IPCC Expert Reviewer for the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the Programme and Research Council of the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), the FAO Expert Panel on Evaluation of the International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and the Independent Advisory Committee on AABS at the WorldFish Centre.