Final dissertation

I. Proposed Dissertation Title:.

Ocean endangered: how businesses can promote the conservation of endangered marine environment while creating value et the same time?

II. Research Question or Hypothesis:

 

Which is the best business model for a profitable organizations to create value and at the same time, contribute to the protection of the marine life? How to reverse reverse the pain caused to the marine environment while generating profit simultaneously? 

 

​The conflict between the human civilization and the wildlife has gone too far. The generations representing the next workforce will have to figure out ways to stop all kind of pollution, or even, reverse it. But the system in which we live is so well built an we have created dependencies that force us to push this pollution forward instead of stopping it.The fishing industry, for instance, is one of the most devastating industry for the oceans. Assuming that new sustainable fishing  techniques can be elaborated, what are they? And at what cost? Supposing that a company is able to innovate the techniques, but also the materials with which we use and extracts oceans resources, where will it find its funding?And how will the firm generate profit? These are different variables that will be develop in order to come out with the best business model. 

 

This hypothesis will address a new business model that can create and manage naturalreserves and profit as much the environment as the business. The aim of this business is to make a profit. This case will discuss and elaborates strategies as well as business models that enables marine businesses to generate their desired profits while rescuing the marine life.

​There are several ways in which a business can save marine life while at the same time making profit: innovate unsustainable fishing practices, capture eco-friendly marine-based economic opportunities, improve the costal environment, and increase the productivity of the ocean sustainably, as well as several ways to extract pollution as well human garbages out of the oceans in order to create value with it are some of the factorsthat will be developed in this dissertation. Indeed, There is plenty of raw material lost each year in the waters. Nowadays, the cost of raw materials is exponential. Thus, more and more valuable.

 

This paper will develop and explain how could we locally protect biodiversity through the marine reserves, which have potential economic benefits. For example, encouragement of local fisheries, maintaining the ecosystem services, and increasing tourism. Some fishing communities oppose the marine reserves because they fear the short-term income losses associated with closure. This hypothesis will address a new business model that can create and manage reserves and profit the stakeholders and the shareholders. The model should expand and provide ecosystem services and other services that provide a general framework that can estimate the benefits and costs of reserves and develop the business model.

If fisheries management and Marine Protected Areas are used effectively in the marine reserves, achieving economic and sustainable variables for ocean protection is possible. Failure to protect the marine areas and fishery management can lead to a loss in protecting the ocean environment

 

The above alternative hypothesis explores the relationship between businesses and ocean life.

It is possible for businesses to generate maximum profits (independent variable) while saving marine life (dependent variable).

 

There are several ways in which maximum profits can be generated by saving marine life. First, marine life generates a lot of profits for businesses that are located close to the oceans. Oil products and minerals such as soda ash can be extracted to generate profit for businesses. Therefore, minimizing the rate at which they dump waste products such as carbon and sewage into the ocean can increase the value of these water bodies and help businesses maximize their profitability an income they get. Alternatively, waste products found on the ocean beach such as plastics can be recycled and re-used or sold to earn profits for companies.

 

Research question 

Which is the best business model that can save and promote the marine environment while generating profit simultaneously ?

 

III. Review of Literature/Background:

The marine life is significantly becoming endangered as the global population continues to increase, industrialization as well as business and human activities also continue to increase. Therefore, The climate is changing too. A study conducted by observe that climate change is one of the leading factors endangering marine life (Duarte et al., 2020).

 

In addition, the atmospheric carbon dioxide is also increasing generating more ocean acidification, resulting in adverse effects to marine life such as loss of breeding grounds, coral bleaching, and dissolving skeletons and shells (Yanik and Aslan, 2018). 

 

​Today, marine life is more threatened as compared to few decades ago. For instance, a study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund revealed that more than 100 million marine animals are killed by plastic wastes every year. In addition, around100,000 marine animals die from being entangled in plastic wastes yearly. 

 

According to the projects by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 50% of marine species in the world may become extinct if there are effective and necessary measures put in place to make sure that the threats facing marine life are eradicated (Bermudez and Lindemann-Matthies, 2020). Human activities, especially industrialization is among the leading contributor of ocean pollution. Pesticides, discharge of nutrients, agricultural run-off, and untreated sewage are among land-based sources that make up approximately 18% of marine pollution in the world (Gutoff, 2017).

Similarly, almost 8 million tons of plastic are released into oceans in different parts of the world every year (Yanik and Aslan, 2018).

Other studies have assesses the significant role played by businesses in conserving and protecting endangered marine animals and ocean species. For instance, a report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (2021) revealed that 8.7% of the 380 million tons of plastic waste were recycled in the year 2019. This aspect was considered to be an effective strategy when it comes to reducing water pollutants by businesses. It was also considered to be the best strategy for saving money. In fact, a well-designed planned and implemented recycling program can generate thousands of euros in savings per person annually (Carney Almroth and Eggert, 2019)

Therefore, the new research will build on the literature provided above and explore other ways businesses can save marine life while also creating business value in the process. This research will recommend new strategies for big and small businesses to improve waste management, adopt more sustainable business practices, and collaborate with the rest of the world in addressing the various threats endangering marine life. The strategy through which businesses can save marine life is shifting away from plastic packaging to more eco-friendly alternatives. Packaging waste accounts for approximately 40% of all solid waste in waste streams. Some of the eco-friendly packaging alternatives that businesses should adopt include organic fabrics, seaweed and mushroom packaging, recyclable and reusable materials and biodegradable packaging. In so doing, this research will make a valuable addition to the existing knowledge about the subject.

IV. Research Methodology:

​This study will use a mixed-method research design. It is important to note that choosing a research design is a significant process in research since it helps in formulating the path followed by the researcher in an entire research process such as designing questionnaires, analyzing data, interpreting as well as reporting the findings. 

 

​The study will use both primary and secondary approaches in data collection and analysis. In other words, it will collect both qualitative and quantitative data. As far as the primary research is concerned, the researcher will conduct telephonic and online surveys to examine and understand the role of businesses in the protection and conservation of endangered marine species. A standardized questionnaire will be administered to a maximum of respondents which will include researchers, professors, policy makers, and business leaders for the purpose of collecting primary data which will be quantitative in nature. Every respondent will be asked to completely fill a structured questionnaire to demonstrate the way and magnitude in which businesses can contribute in the protection of marine life. A standardized questionnaire involves asking precisely the same questions to all participants in an identical formats, and recording the responses in a uniform manner (Sharpe & Berggren, 2019). It will capture the role played by businesses in protecting and conserving marine animals and ocean species. Before the main study, I will conduct a pilot study including 4 respondents from the study area. However, the respondents that will take part in the pilot study will not be included in the main study. A pilot study gives the researcher an opportunity to ascertain the feasibility of the project and also whether the proposed instruments and methods of the study are appropriate and if they will yield needed information (Manzello et al., 2019)

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​Primary data will be complemented with secondary data which will result from a systematic literature review. I will identify, select, and appraise literature for the purpose of answering the research question. The main research question of the proposed study is whether businesses can promote the conservation of endangered marine species while also creating value for the business at the same time.

​Moreover, I will put in place inclusion/exclusion criteria where he will carry out a systematic scoping review to eliminate unreliable low-quality sources of data. Reputed websites and peer-reviewed journal articles to obtain the highest level of evidence will be used.