New metrics for managing and sustaining the ocean's bounty

Policies are arising around the world, most recently in the United States, that mandate the implementation of marine spatial planning as a practical pathway towards ecosystem-based management. In the new United States ocean policy, and several other cases around the globe, ecosystem services are at the core of marine spatial planning, but there is little guidance on how ecosystem services should be measured, making it hard to implement this new approach. A new framework is shown here for practical, rigorous ecosystem service measurement that highlights contributions from both natural and social systems. The novel three-step framework addresses traditional shortcomings of an ecosystem services approach by giving managers and scientists the tools to assess and track: (1) the condition of the ecosystem (supply metrics), (2) the amount of ocean resources actually used or enjoyed by people (service metrics), and (3) people's preference for that level of service (value metrics). This framework will allow real world progress on marine spatial planning to happen quickly, and with a greater chance for success.     

Is there a win–win scenario for marine nature conservation? A case study of Lyme Bay,England

A statutory two hundred and six square kilometre ‘closed area’ in Lyme Bay, South West England entered into force on the 11 July 2008 to protect the reef substrate and the associated biodiversity from the impacts of trawling and dredging with heavy demersal fishing gear. This case study provides an example of how the ecosystem approach has been incorporated into decision making for marine nature conservation and shows that despite sound ecological knowledge of a marine area, the current reliance on traditional neo-classical economic valuations for marine spatial planning can obscure other issues pertinent to the ecosystem approach. With the Government seeking win–win scenarios for stakeholders in the designation of Marine Conservation Zones under the Marine and Coastal Access Act, experience of marine spatial planning in Lyme Bay has revealed that a win–win must be a long-term goal based on a thorough evaluation of the environmental, social and economic values of marine biodiversity.     

Issues and challenges in spatio-temporal application of an ecosystem services framework to UK seas

The concepts of ecosystem services and human welfare provide strong integrative frameworks that can be used to inform marine policy and management decisions that support sustainable development. A theoretical framework has been developed and applied to create a model for UK seas to measure changes in final ecosystem services, in terms of human welfare. The model that has been developed is explicitly spatial and temporal to facilitate its use in supporting marine planning decisions. The development and application of this framework to UK seas necessarily requires many assumptions to be made. The paper describes the development and population of the framework and discusses the practical limitations and challenges in seeking to develop and apply such models. Significant differences in long-term values of different services were identified under the different scenarios. All scenarios highlight the projected decline in oil and gas revenues which provide particular intense values at sites of extraction. These values are partially replaced by revenues from offshore renewables in some of the scenarios. Values associated with carbon sequestration, maritime transport, tourism and pollution assimilation are also very significant but more spatially diffuse. The study has demonstrated that it is possible to develop spatio-temporal models to evaluate changes in final ecosystem service benefits using existing data, although the approach necessarily requires many assumptions to be made.     

The matrix revisited: A bird's-eye view of marine ecosystem service provision

The marine environment provides a range of ecosystem services and benefits for society. A previous study in Marine Policy (Potts et al., 2014) [1] advocated a matrix approach to demonstrate the relative degree of ecosystem service provision from habitats and species within UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but excluded seabird species in its assessment. Despite the number of existing UK MPAs designated specifically for individual seabird species and/or seabird assemblages, and the fact that seabird species have long been used as policy-relevant indicators for the monitoring and management of the marine environment, as yet little research has focussed on the direct role of seabird species in the provision of ecosystem services and how these are captured for marine spatial planning purposes in the context of MPAs. Building on the matrix approach, this paper develops and populates a matrix to illustrate the relationship between key UK breeding seabird species and their relative contribution to the delivery of intermediate ecosystem services and goods/benefits. The original matrix approach has been strengthened to include the development and testing of a set of rules for combining multiple matrices. Confidence scores relating to the underlying evidence base are built into the matrix to provide an illustration of the current understanding and to identify current gaps in evidence. Following a sense check by external seabird experts the matrix is applied in the context of four existing UK MPA case study sites. Further developments and applications of the seabird matrix are discussed within the context of wider marine management.     

Guiding ecological principles for marine spatial planning

The declining health of marine ecosystems around the world is evidence that current piecemeal governance is inadequate to successfully support healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems and sustain human uses of the ocean. One proposed solution to this problem is ecosystem-based marine spatial planning (MSP), which is a process that informs the spatial distribution of activities in the ocean so that existing and emerging uses can be maintained, use conflicts reduced, and ecosystem health and services protected and sustained for future generations. Because a key goal of ecosystem-based MSP is to maintain the delivery of ecosystem services that humans want and need, it must be based on ecological principles that articulate the scientifically recognized attributes of healthy, functioning ecosystems. These principles should be incorporated into a decision-making framework with clearly defined targets for these ecological attributes. This paper identifies ecological principles for MSP based on a synthesis of previously suggested and/or operationalized principles, along with recommendations generated by a group of twenty ecologists and marine scientists with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on MSP. The proposed four main ecological principles to guide MSP—maintaining or restoring: native species diversity, habitat diversity and heterogeneity, key species, and connectivity—and two additional guidelines, the need to account for context and uncertainty, must be explicitly taken into account in the planning process. When applied in concert with social, economic, and governance principles, these ecological principles can inform the designation and siting of ocean uses and the management of activities in the ocean to maintain or restore healthy ecosystems, allow delivery of marine ecosystem services, and ensure sustainable economic and social benefits.     

The value of marine biodiversity to the leisure and recreation industry and its application to marine spatial planning

The incorporation of the ecosystem approach into marine planning requires that all aspects of value associated with marine biodiversity are incorporated into the decision making process. An ecosystem services approach to valuing marine biodiversity is recognised as a framework by which economic, ecological and social values may be incorporated into the decision making process. There are sectors of the marine leisure and recreation industry (sub-aqua diving, sea angling and wildlife watching), which depend on the presence of natural marine resources in order to carry out their activity. Estimating the value of this direct use can provide an evidence base for the sustainable use of marine biodiversity when set against other competing economic interests in marine spatial planning. In the case study area of Lyme Bay, the marine leisure and recreation industry has been valued using both monetary and non-monetary methods. The results show that the leisure and recreation industry is dependent on the diversity of sites (many of which are currently unmanaged) and that the industry is of economic significance and an area which has recently been closed to trawling activity enables the protection of some of the most valuable sites but has limited benefits for protecting the full resource base upon which this local industry depends.     

A new typology of benefits derived from marine protected areas

Global decline of marine resources has triggered a worldwide demand for changing the way ocean resources are managed. Ecosystem-based management approaches have emerged using marine protected areas (MPA) as the main tool. Several classifications of marine protected areas benefits have been made, but all have focused only on the benefits to humans, neglecting many important benefits accrued to nature. This paper presents a new comprehensive classification of MPA benefits that will provide scientists and managers with an inclusive framework to accurately identify and account for all possible benefits derived from MPAs. The paper also analyses the methods available for valuing these benefits. A total of 99 benefits were identified within nine main categories: fishery, non-fishery, management, education/research, cultural, process, ecosystem, population and species benefits. These categories are arranged in two main divisions (direct and indirect benefits), which, at the same time, fall within the realms of benefits to humans and to nature.     

基于生态系统的挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划

为推动我国国土空间规划新视角下的海洋空间规划实践,提升我国海洋综合管理水平,文章概述基于生态系统的挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划的主要内容,并重点分析挪威海的海洋环境空间管理措施。研究结果表明:挪威海海洋环境综合管理计划是基于生态系统的海洋空间规划,建立在良好的海洋环境状况和海洋生物多样性与其栖息地的保护基础之上,以可持续利用海洋资源来实现海洋产业的价值创造与生态系统服务供给;该管理计划制定一系列海洋环境保护措施和人类活动空间管理措施,以实现挪威海海洋环境的有效保护和海洋经济产业的有效管理;挪威海海洋空间规划的发展可为我国国土空间规划涉海内容的编制、海洋资源的可持续利用与海洋产业的快速健康发展提供重要参考。     

How sustainable is sustainable marine spatial planning? Part I—Linking the concepts

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged worldwide as a tool for sustainable ocean governance. This paper reviews how sustainability and ecosystem-based management (EBM) have been included so far within the MSP general framework, by carrying out: (1) a review on the links between sustainability, EBM and MSP in EU maritime policy initiatives; (2) an analysis on the differences between ecosystem-based MSP versus MSP focused on delivering blue growth; and (3) a discussion on how adaptive management may address some of the main challenges found in achieving sustainable ocean management. From the EU Green Paper (2006) to the MSP Directive Proposal (2013), MSP processes based on the principle of EBM have been recognized as a necessary tool to ensure maritime sustainable development. Although ecosystem-based MSP has been recently presented as the best way to ensure both ecosystem conservation and development of human activities, most national and European MSP initiatives seem to follow a MSP approach focused in delivering blue growth. A challenge, therefore, arises: how to adjust policy decisions to properly preserve ecosystems and the services they provide? If truly implemented, an adaptive approach seems to be a way forward in ensuring that spatial planning, management and policy-making in marine spaces can be continuously adjusted, thus allowing for sustainability.     

The emerging policy landscape for marine spatial planning in Europe

This paper provides an overview of the emerging policy landscape for marine spatial planning in the European Union, which consists of four main categories of policy drivers: environmental legislation, legislation on marine renewable energy, fisheries regulations and the Integrated Maritime Policy. The weak links between these categories of policy drivers, underpinned by a lack of clarity regarding the vision for sustainability, pose major challenges for the emergence of ecosystem-based and integrated marine spatial planning in Europe. In addition, there is still uncertainty arising from on-going reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, and discussions on the need for a new marine spatial planning directive. This paper concludes with the view that better integration of environmental concerns into the Common Fisheries Policy is needed to strengthen the link between environmental legislation and fisheries regulations, and that the existing policy landscape, particularly the Marine Strategic Framework Directive, already provides a legal framework for ecosystem-based marine spatial planning. Such a framework is consistent with the recognition that ecosystem conservation underpins other pillars of sustainable development and provides the foundation for cross-sectoral marine planning and management.     

Valuing the health benefits of physical activities in the marine environment and their importance for marine spatial planning

The marine environment provides a number of services which contribute to human well-being including the provision of food, regulation of climate and the provision of settings for cultural gains. To ensure these services continue to be provided, effective management is required and is being strategically implemented through the development of marine spatial plans. These plans require an understanding of the costs and benefits associated with alternative marine uses and how they contribute to human well-being. One benefit which is often difficult to quantify is the health benefit of engaging with the marine environment. To address this, the research develops an approach which can estimate the contribution aquatic physical activities makes to quality adjusted life years (QALYs) in monetary and non-monetary terms. Using data from the Health Survey for England, the research estimates that physical activities undertaken in aquatic environments at a national level provides a total gain of 24,853 QALYs. A conservative estimate of the monetary value of a QALY gain of this magnitude is £176 million. This approach provides estimates of health benefits which can be used in more comprehensive impact assessments, such as cost-benefit analysis, to compare alternative marine spatial plans. The paper concludes by discussing future steps.     

Mapping ecosystem services for marine spatial planning: Recreation opportunities in Sub-Antarctic Chile

The ecosystem services approach has increasingly emerged as a core requirement of ecosystem-based management of the marine space. In this context, explicit quantification and mapping of ecosystem services is considered key. This research proposes a methodological framework that combines Geographic Information Systems and participatory techniques to map the ecosystem service of recreation opportunities, provided by coastal and marine ecosystems. Attributes selected to represent the ecosystem service were scenic beauty, unique natural resources, accessibility, cultural sites and tourism use aptitude. High values of the indicator concentrated on areas that combined the presence of unique marine fauna (e.g. Southern Elephant Seal, Mirounga leonina), terrestrial and marine routs, and areas of high scenic beauty, associated to the presence of glaciers. These areas corresponded to the southern part of Almirantazgo Sound, the northern part of Navarino Island on the coast of the Beagle Channel, and to areas surrounding Wulaia fishermen's cove. Zones showing highest values of the indicator 81–100) comprised 0.89% of the study area and a small proportion of them coincided with areas of aptitude for aquaculture, which represents potential use conflicts, as long as aquaculture concessions remain operative. In turn, the areas of lowest values 0–20) were located offshore in open sea, and comprised 0.49% of the study area. Overall, the methodology demonstrated the capacity to identify potential recreation areas to inform regional decision making regarding marine use planning.     

海洋生态系统服务非市场价值评估框架:内涵、技术与准则

海洋生态系统服务非市场价值评估是将生态系统服务的效用价值量化为货币价值的过程。通过将无形的生态系统效益转化为有形的经济价值,非市场价值评估有利于提高海洋生态系统管理决策的科学性和有效性。然而现有研究对于评估对象的界定以及评估技术的使用缺乏统一的标准,导致评估结果不具有可比性。本文从内涵、技术与准则三个层面构建了海洋生态系统服务非市场价值评估框架:首先,系统分析了生态系统功能、生态系统服务以及生态效益的区别和联系,明确了非市场价值从生态系统到社会经济系统的转化路径;其次,对比阐释了非市场价值评估技术的差异性与适用性,识别出不同评估方法的技术特征;最后,提出了非市场价值评估的应用准则,确保评估过程的有效性和评估结果的可靠性。     

The engagement of stakeholders in the marine spatial planning process

Due to the interdependency that exists between the ecosystem resources and its users, successful implementation of ecosystem-based management depends on the identification and understanding of different stakeholders, their practices, expectations and interests. Today, many scientists and resource managers agree that the involvement of stakeholders is a key factor for a successful management regime in the marine environment. The way stakeholders are involved in the process must reflect, or at least address, the existing complexity of the specific context. A comprehensive method that allows doing this is by use of stakeholder analysis and mapping. This article will focus on the various types and stages of stakeholder participation in a marine spatial planning process, and will illustrate how to conduct a stakeholder analysis that allows the involvement of stakeholders in an adequate way that is sustainable over time.     

An assessment of the non-market value of the ecosystem services provided by the Catalan coastal zone,Spain

A spatial value transfer analysis was performed to generate baseline estimates of the value of ecosystem services in the coastal zone of Catalonia, Spain. The study used the best available conceptual frameworks, data sources, and analytical techniques to generate non-market monetary value estimates that can be used to identify scarce ecosystem services among competing coastal uses. The approach focused on natural and seminatural, terrestrial and marine systems, which provide essential services that are not considered in current economic markets. Results show that in 2004 a substantial economic value of $3,195 million USD/yr was delivered to local citizens by surrounding ecosystems. In a spatially explicit manner, the approach illustrates the contribution made by natural environmental systems to the well being of communities in the coastal zone of Catalonia. It is hoped that this study will highlight the need to consider these coastal systems in future management strategies to ensure their proper maintenance and conservation.     

Nine nations,one ocean: A benchmark appraisal of the South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (2008–2012)

Coastal and island states of the Western Indian Ocean lack scientific and management capacity to draw sustainable benefits from their Exclusive Economic Zones. Declining ecosystem services and unregulated fishing has prompted nine riparian countries to develop a regional framework for capacity building and scientific development towards collective management of shared resources. Supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Agulhas and Somali Currents large marine ecosystems programme consists of three inter-related modules, supported by different agencies: land-based impacts on the marine environment (UNEP); productivity, ecosystem health and nearshore fisheries (UNDP) and transboundary shared and migrating fisheries resources (World Bank). The latter is the South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), a 5-year joint data gathering and fisheries assessment initiative. SWIOFP is a prelude to long-term cooperative fisheries management in partnership with the newly established FAO–South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC). We describe the development of SWIOFP as a model of participatory regional scientific cooperation and collective ocean management.     

Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues

Conventional sectoral management and piecemeal governance are considered less and less appropriate in pursuit of sustainable development. Ecosystem based marine spatial management (EB-MSM) is an approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. Marine spatial planning and ocean zoning are emerging concepts that can support EB-MSM. EB-MSM is driven by high-level goals that managers aim to achieve through the implementation of measures. High-level goals and objectives need to be translated into more operational objectives before specific targets, limits and measures can be elaborated.Monitoring, evaluation and adaptation are necessary to ensure that marine management measures are both effective and efficient. Solid monitoring frameworks are the foundation of adaptive management, as they provide the necessary information to evaluate performance and the effectiveness of management actions. Marine protected areas (MPAs) - possibly set up in networks - constitute a key component in EB-MSM policies and practises and have been applied as a cornerstone in conservation of marine biodiversity, management of fish populations, development of coastal tourism, etc. Moreover, MPA experiences have provided methods and concepts (such as zoning) to a wider EB-MSM context. The assignment of values to biophysical features of the marine environment allows the direct assessment of related management choices and may assist EB-MSM.A range of monetary valuation techniques have been proposed to reduce attributes of goods and services to a single metric. However, in the marine environment such an approach is often over simplistic, and thus less reductive techniques may be necessary. Rather than producing a single metric, the results of non-monetary assessments guide policy allowing weight to be given as necessary to potential areas of conflict and consensus.Strategies to take into account climate change effects and geohazard risks in EB-MSM have been applied or proposed worldwide. EB-MSM regimes must be alert to such risks and flexible to account for changes.     

Integrated terrestrial and marine planning in England’s coastal inter-tidal zone: Assessing the operational effectiveness of the Coastal Concordat

In many countries, the regulation of activities and development in the marine environment has begun to evolve from a compartmentalised, fragmented, sectoral and uncoordinated system into a more strategic, comprehensive, integrated and transparent one. A remaining challenge, however, is the effective integration of marine and terrestrial planning, because the tools and mechanisms necessary for its achievement have been slow to be implemented. The introduction of the England's Coastal Concordat in 2013, as a voluntary framework for better integrating marine and terrestrial planning consents, represents an atypical mechanism to secure these goals. This paper is a preliminary survey of the perceived effectiveness of the Coastal Concordat, based on a survey of 32 professionals from the terrestrial planning authorities, marine statutory agencies and marine-sector businesses. While this evaluation is made less than two years after the introduction of the Coastal Concordat, it is important to undertake a preliminary examination, from various stakeholder perspectives, of the factors likely to be influential in the integration of regulatory systems, before the approach is ‘rolled out’ across other parts of England's inter-tidal coastal zone. The results indicate that the Coastal Concordat has produced benefits for marine planning in coastal areas, but that these improvements are largely experienced within the public sector in terms of better communication, early engagement, and a single point of contact. The marine sector businesses are more neutral about the benefits of the Concordat. It is clear, however, that marine sector businesses must participate in the formulation of any reforms if an effective integrated system of planning and management of coastal environments is to be achieved.     

多种海洋开发类型的综合效益评估

随着海洋开发活动的不断加剧,各海洋开发类型综合效益的评估与分析对维持海洋社会经济与海洋生态环境的可持续发展具有重大意义,不同海洋开发活动带来不同的社会、经济效益,也产生了海洋资源的损耗,影响了海洋环境和海洋生态服务功能。根据江苏省海洋资源开发活动特点,筛选出江苏海岸带资源开发中常见的4种典型的开发利用类型,选取了能够突出反映海洋开发活动综合效益的经济效益指标、社会效益指标、资源损耗指标、环境成本指标构建海洋开发类型综合效益评估体系。基于层次分析法与熵权法组合权重,运用综合效益指数评价模型分别计算了单一指标效益值、准则层效益值、各研究案例效益值、各用海类型效益值并对以上研究数据之间的相互关系进行了深入分析,探求各用海类型综合效益评估值的关键影响因素。通过实证研究发现4种海洋开发类型的综合效益评估值均介于0.4~0.6之间,处于一般的综合效益状态,综合效益从高到底依次排序:临港工业用海类型为0.551 3、海上风电用海类型为0.492 4、排污倾倒用海类型为0.441、围海养殖用海类型为0.434 3。海洋开发类型综合效益的评估对及时调整海洋开发对策,缓和海洋开发与海洋生态环境的矛盾具有积极意义。     

The perils and promise of futures analysis in marine ecosystem-based management

Ecosystem-based management is now widely accepted as the standard strategy for achieving sustainable delivery of marine and estuarine ecosystem services. The ubiquity and rate of change in marine ecosystems necessitate incorporating visions of future ecosystem states into ecosystem management strategies. Creating visions of the future enables policy makers to set realistic objectives and targets, and to explore the consequences of potential management decisions on ecosystems under multiple potential scenarios of change. Several classes of futures are used in marine ecosystem management program, and three are highlighted here: visioning, predictive models, and scenario analysis. Each approach is briefly described, and their use in current marine ecosystem management programs in North America is reviewed. In particular, the importance of using scenario analysis to identify and incorporate the influence of exogenous drivers into management strategies is highlighted. Then, some of the perils and promises associated with each approach are described, and a way forward is proposed that incorporates multiple types of future envisioning approaches into management programs. Key contributions of future analyses include highlighting connections and trade-offs among ecosystem components, setting realistic targets, and incorporating exogenous drivers, and their uncertainties, into ecosystem management programs.