Implementation of integrated ecosystem assessments in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea—conceptualizations, practice, and progress (original) (raw)
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ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2013
"Borne out of a collective movement towards ecosystem-based management (EBM), multispecies and multi-sector scientific assessments of the ocean are emerging around the world. In the USA, integrated ecosystem assessments (IEAs) were formally defined 5 years ago to serve as a scientific foundation for marine EBM. As outlined by the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration in 2008, an IEA is a cyclical process consisting of setting goals and targets, defining indicators, analysing status, trends, and risk, and evaluating alternative potential future management and environmental scenarios to enhance information needed for effective EBM. These steps should be hierarchical, iterative, non-prescriptive about technical implementation, and adaptable to existing information for any ecosystem. Despite these strengths and some initial successes, IEAs and EBM have yet to be fully realized in the USA. We propose eight tenets that can be adopted by scientists, policy-makers, and managers to enhance the use of IEAs in implementing EBM. These tenets include (i) engage with stakeholders, managers, and policy-makers early, often, and continually; (ii) conduct rigorous human dimensions research; (iii) recognize the importance of transparently selecting indicators; (iv) set ecosystem targets to create a system of EBM accountability; (v) establish a formal mechanism(s) for the review of IEA science; (vi) serve current management needs, but not at the expense of more integrative ocean management; (vii) provide a venue for EBM decision-making that takes full advantage of IEA products; and (viii) embrace realistic expectations about IEA science and its implementation. These tenets are framed in a way that builds on domestic and international experiences with ocean management. With patience, persistence, political will, funding, and augmented capacity, IEAs will provide a general approach for allowing progressive science to lead conventional ocean management to new waters. "
2014
Integrated assessment requires examination of factors across biological hierarchies, taxonomic groups, ocean-use sectors, management objectives, and scientific disciplines. The articles in this theme set represent attempts to clarify and elaborate upon what integrated assessments are, with a particular emphasis on how they are being implemented. The aim of this themed article set is to clarify the use of integratedassessment terminology and demonstrate, by presenting case studies, examples in which integrated ecosystem assessments serve as useful tools to implement ecosystem-based management (EBM) while also identifying challenges that must be overcome for this to succeed. In theory, EBM seeks to address the various natural and anthropogenic pressures faced by the key components of marine systems simultaneously. EBM also attempts to account for “cumulative impacts” that might otherwise be overlooked. Nascent attempts to implement EBM highlight the need—in practice—to address trade-o...
Marine Policy, 2022
The international legal agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) currently being developed by the United Nations will be the foundation for conservation and sustainable use of these marine areas for the foreseeable future. As presently formulated the draft text seems more oriented to a reactive approach, based on the use of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to respond to proposals rather than proactively pursuing what needs to be done to ensure sustainability of ocean ecosystems in ABNJ. In this paper we argue that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process could transform the way that the BBNJ agreement approaches conservation and sustainable use. By conceptualising SEA as a process designed to facilitate strategic thinking it can facilitate a proactive approach to ecosystem function conservation and enable transitions toward sustainability. We outline and describe a SEA process that could be incorporated into the BBNJ Agreement. This process would be consistent with the currently proposed structure of the Agreement and the EIA process that is currently envisaged. The proposed process comprises two interacting tracks of SEA and Marine Protected Area/Area-based Management Tool (MPA/ABMT) development. The process would also facilitate engagement of the full range of regional and global stakeholders required for effective governance of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ).
Confronting the challenges of implementing marine ecosystem-based management
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2007
Many services provided by coastal and marine ecosystems are in decline. Awareness of these declines and the need to improve existing management has led to a shift toward ecosystem-based approaches to marine management and conservation, both in the US and elsewhere. Marine ecosystem-based management (EBM) involves recognizing and addressing interactions among different spatial and temporal scales, within and among ecological and social systems, and among stakeholder groups and communities interested in the health and stewardship of coastal and marine areas. We discuss some overarching principles of marine EBM and highlight key challenges facing implementation. We then recommend ways in which natural and social scientists can advance implementation of ecosystem-based approaches in the oceans by addressing key research needs, building interdisciplinary scientific capacity, and synthesizing and communicating scientific knowledge to policy makers, managers, and other stakeholders.
Anthropocene Coasts
In recent decades, international assessments of the ocean have evolved from specialized, technical evaluations of the state of the marine environment to more integrated and thematically extensive science-policy platforms. As assessment programmes such as the UN Regular Process blossom on the global stage and subsume responsibility for tracking progress on sustainable development, there is a need to consider how their processes wield influence and effectively translate knowledge into action. In the present paper, we undertake a comprehensive review of the literature on global environmental assessments (GEAs) and extract key principles that can be applied to global assessments of the marine environment. We were particularly inspired to identify how social processes could be arranged to best distill, communicate, and produce actionable knowledge. While we look to the advice of experts in the literature, we highlight specific examples from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (...