A Framework for Monitoring and Assessing Socioeconomics and Governance of Large Marine Ecosystems (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. "
Is a new mandate needed for marine ecosystem-based management?
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2008
w ww ww w. .f fr ro on nt ti ie er rs si in ne ec co ol lo og gy y. .o or rg g Humans are intimately linked to the ecosystems in which they live through ecosystem services. Coastal and marine ecosystems, in particular, provide critical services, such as storm protection, pollution mitigation, and food, as well as opportunities for research, education, recreation, and preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Yet human activities now impact almost every aspect of coastal and marine ecosystems and threaten the continued production of valued services (UNEP 2006). These impacts are increasing in extent and intensity, and are predicted to continue to do so, unless dramatic changes in policy occur (MA 2005). Historically, human activities and impacts on coastal and marine environments have been managed in a piecemeal manner. For example, in the US, dredging of coastal areas is overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers, while commercial fishing is regulated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and a host of state agencies, depending on exactly where the activity occurs. In total, more than 15 federal agencies and departments are involved in managing ocean resources in the US. Considerable evidence indicates that this fragmented approach has not adequately sustained coastal and ocean resources (POC 2003; USCOP 2004). Recently, therefore, there has been increasing interest in the US and around the world in moving toward more ecosystembased approaches to coastal and ocean management (WSSD 2002; POC 2003; USCOP 2004; UNEP 2006). Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is an integrated approach that considers the entire ecosystem, including humans (POC 2003; USCOP 2004; McLeod et al. 2005). Marine EBM goes beyond traditional marine management approaches, which usually focus on only a single species or sector, by incorporating the interactions among ecosystem components and cumulative impacts of multiple activities into management decisions. Approaches to implementing marine EBM vary, but share a focus on protecting the structure, functioning, and key processes of coastal and marine ecosystems, so as to sustain the services that humans want and need (McLeod et al. 2005).
Ecosystem management and environmental policy in the United States: open window or closed door?
Landscape and Urban Planning, 1998
Ecosystem management is a recent policy alternative proposed to address a new generation of environmental issues. At least 18 federal agencies are currently exploring the concept of ecosystem management and its implications for their activities. Each of the major regulatory, land and natural resource management agencies has drafted policy guidance regarding ecosystem management. And federal sector efforts are just one layer of a wider nationwide phenomenon: similar activities are occurring at state and local government levels, as well as within the nongovernmental sector. This paper addresses two questions: What is ecosystem management? Will ecosystem management endure as a land and resource management policy? q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
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.
Science in support of ecosystem-based management for the US West Coast and beyond
Biological Conservation, 2010
Declining ocean health, increasing human demands on marine ecosystems, and a history of management focused on individual activities, species or sectors has led to calls for more comprehensive, integrated management that considers entire coupled social-ecological systems. This transition to ecosystem-based management (EBM) for the oceans will certainly face a number of hurdles, and many practitioners struggle with how to move forward with EBM. In this paper, we assess whether the necessary science exists to support EBM. Specifically, we evaluate the state of the social and natural sciences for three research areas that are critical to EBM: (1) ecosystem services, (2) cumulative impacts, and (3) ecosystem variability and change. For each of the three research areas, we describe its importance to EBM and assess existing and emerging information and application of this knowledge, focusing on the US West Coast. We conclude that available science is not the bottleneck for moving forward with comprehensive EBM for this region, although we highlight important remaining knowledge gaps, particularly within the social sciences. Given imperfect and uncertain knowledge, EBM calls for an adaptive management approach, starting with readily available information, and continuously adapting as new information emerges. This synthesis can serve as a basis for comparison for other regions; it provides guidance for organizing information in support of EBM and outlines many novel and broadly applicable scientific approaches.
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2011
The application of ecosystem-based management (EBM) in marine environments has been widely supported by scientists, managers, and policy makers, yet implementation of this approach is difficult for various scientific, political, and social reasons. A key, but often overlooked, challenge is how to account for multiple and varied human activities and ecosystem services and incorporate ecosystem-level thinking into EBM planning. We developed methods to systematically identify the natural and human components of a specific ecosystem and to qualitatively evaluate the strength of their interactions. Using the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem as a case study, we show how these methods may be applied, in order to identify and prioritize the most important components to be included in an EBM plan-particularly the human activities that are the strongest drivers of ecosystem change and the ecosystem services most threatened by cumulative and indirect effects of these activities.