Vaibhavi Dwivedi

Vaibhavi is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a background in Environmental Law and Management. Through her current PhD research, she is analyzing how the leading regime in the Antarctic region, the Antarctic Treaty System, is addressing the emerging issue of plastic pollution in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. This project aims to provide governance recommendations on the issue of plastics in the Antarctic region, add knowledge around the impact of global decision-making on national policies, and analyze the interactions between the Antarctic Treaty System and the new Global Plastics Treaty in addressing plastic pollution in this region.

Her previous academic and work experiences include working on conservation projects, climate literacy, environmental awareness and advocacy. She has worked on native species conservation in the Hawaiian Islands during her master’s degree and later with the state of Hawaiʻi. During her time in law school, she founded India’s first student-led organization to increase climate literacy amongst communities impacted by the effects of increasing environmental issues. Her passion for ocean conservation led her to her current PhD research.

Research projects / interests:

• Governance solutions to plastic pollution in Antarctic and the Southern Ocean
• Intrinsic values of Antarctica

Areas of interest:

• Polar Governance
• Tourism
• Antarctic Treaty System
• Environmental Management
• Polar Policy
• Geopolitics
• Environment
• Values

Keywords: Antarctic Governance, Plastic Pollution, International Relations, Environmental Politics