A large marine ecosystem governance framework

A large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework, developed from a need to effectively address the sustainable management of the shared living marine resources of the Caribbean, is proposed. The framework is based on four propositions and focuses on a linked examination of two well-known components of LME-level governance: the policy cycle process by which decisions are made and the multi-level nature of LMEs. It accommodates the diversity of policy cycles at multiple levels and the linkages among them required for effective governance of LMEs. The framework takes into account of factors such as context, purpose, jurisdictional scale, capacity and complexity and provides a means to identify critical areas for intervention.     

Strengthening regional governance to protect the marine environment in Northeast Asia: From a fragmented to an integrated approach

Northeast Asia is failing in its attempts to protect its regional seas from irreversible ecological damage and contamination. At the policy level, the regional architecture for marine protection has several glaring structural problems that need to be identified and resolved in an expeditious and politically sensitive manner. Although the UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Project (YS LME) and the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) are the two most likely institutions from which to build the next phase of regional marine cooperation, synergies between the two institutions remain limited. Both institutions are endowed with unique opportunities, challenges and limitations that must be taken into full consideration when planning the next step of coordinated action for regional marine protection. For the purpose of developing a more effective phase of marine cooperation in Northeast Asia, this paper advocates the formation of a Marine Environmental Community based on an integrated approach towards Northeast Asia's regional marine programs. This will facilitate improvements in funding, policy coordination through high level policy dialogue, transparency and efficiency of information sharing systems and full participation of all the coastal states in the region.     

The triangle of marine governance in the environmental governance of Dutch offshore platforms

In this paper, we develop the triangle of marine governance to understand the changing locus and focus of marine governance practices. In general, the locus and focus of marine governance is shifting from top-down, state-led governance to network governance. This shift is captured by the triangle of marine governance, because the triangle refers to the institutional setting in which politics and policy making takes place (polity), to policy making itself (policy), to activities of politicians and processes of power (politics), and to the interplay between policy, politics and polity. Studying the dynamics of politics and policies in marine governance practices through the triangle allows us to analyze and explain how and why the shifts in locus and focus occur. These dynamics of marine governance—as the interplay of policy, politics and policy—is illustrated by the environmental governance of Dutch offshore platforms.     

Ecosystem-based fisheries management in small-scale tropical marine fisheries: Emerging models of governance arrangements in the Philippines

There has been a gradual evolution in fisheries management over the past decades from a focus on sustainability of a single species or stock and resources to a focus on marine ecosystems. Among the issues to be addressed for effective implementation of ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) are the appropriate governance arrangements and scale for management. The purpose of this paper is to examine these issues of governance and scale as related to EBFM in tropical developing countries through an analysis of approaches being taken in the Philippines to manage fisheries on a multi-jurisdictional level. The management of fisheries and coastal resources in a number of bays and gulfs, which represent marine ecosystems, is presented. The opportunities and constraints to ecosystem based fisheries management in the Philippines are discussed and lessons for broader application of these governance structures in tropical developing country marine ecosystems are presented.     

Applying the large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework in the Wider Caribbean Region

The large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework was developed to address the complexity inherent within the Wider Caribbean Region with respect to the region's shared living marine resources. The framework is adaptable to all multi-scale living marine resource situations and provides a basis for incremental implementation of interventions. Parts of the overall governance framework can be targeted for sub-framework development and strengthening through institutional reforms and capacity building. Three examples, the Eastern Caribbean flyingfish fishery, marine protected area (MPA) management and the Eastern Caribbean tuna fishery, are used to illustrate the application of the framework in facilitating and assessing governance effectiveness in the Caribbean. In each case, the purpose is to show the different governance questions that must be addressed at policy, strategy and action levels to make up a complete governance arrangement and how these are distributed among several levels on the institutional scale that typically occur in regional marine resource governance.     

A climate-informed,ecosystem approach to fisheries management

This paper outlines the benefits of using the framework for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) for dealing with the inevitable yet unclear impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on coastal fisheries. With a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, it summarizes the projected biological and socio-economic effects of increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) for coastal fisheries and illustrates how all the important dimensions of climate change and ocean acidification can be integrated into the steps involved in the EAFM planning process. The activities required to harness the full potential of an EAFM as an adaptation to climate change and ocean acidification are also described, including: provision of the necessary expertise to inform all stakeholders about the risks to fish habitats, fish stocks and catches due to climate change; promotion of trans-disciplinary collaboration; facilitating the participation of all key stakeholders; monitoring the wider fisheries system for climate impacts; and enhancing resources and capacity to implement an EAFM. By channeling some of the resources available to the Asia-Pacific region to adapt to climate change into an EAFM, developing countries will not only build resilience to the ecological and fisheries effects of climate change, they will also help address the habitat degradation and overfishing presently reducing the productivity of coastal fisheries.     

England's evolving marine and coastal governance framework

This paper reviews the principal marine and coastal policy changes in England since 1999. The key changes identified are the establishment of a strategic national marine and coastal policy direction, new marine legislation and institutions, the emergence of a marine planning framework, the consolidation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management approaches to coastal governance, the establishment of a Marine Protected Area network, and the decline of coastal partnerships. The European Union, UK National Government, and devolved administrations are identified as key influences on the governance evolution and their relative contributions are discussed. It is concluded that the English marine and coastal governance context has evolved significantly since 1999 and that the new framework, if implemented successfully, represents a genuine step towards an integrated governance framework for England's coasts and seas.     

Regulating wave and tidal energy: An industry perspective on the Scottish marine governance framework

The emerging ocean energy industry, which seeks to utilise waves and tides to generate electricity, is developing in many jurisdictions. The UK, and Scotland in particular, is strongly interested in these technologies, and has made considerable efforts to reform its marine governance processes to better meet the needs of innovative new marine industries. This paper provides an industry perspective on this regulatory framework, reporting on the experiences of ocean energy project and technology developers. Semi-structured interviews with companies with practical experience with Scotland's regulatory framework provide evidence of a number of legal and regulatory challenges, as well as interesting insights into how developers are interacting with new marine governance systems. The paper details the findings of these interviews and offers some suggested directions for future research.     

Understanding divergent perspectives in marine governance in Kenya

To understand the subtle institutional conditions that underlie marine governance, beyond broad conceptualisations of property rights or pre-defined institutional designs, it is necessary to situate governance structures and human interactions within their historical and current social and political context. A two-tiered stakeholder analysis was developed to facilitate this. This analytical tool illuminates divergent perspectives between actors in two marine social-ecological systems in Southern Kenya. Investigating these differences emphasises the variety of historical contexts, social geographies, and current power relations in which different groups are situated. These historical and contextual factors mediate how groups perceive and respond to governance. They, therefore, have important implications for how institutions function.     

Network governance in fisheries

Globalisation is enabling an increasing number of stakeholders to become better informed and more determined to participate in the management of both coastal and high-seas fisheries. Centralised fisheries management agencies are therefore becoming increasingly unable to exert control over the flow of information in fisheries management processes, and less able to exclude other formal and informal institutions from influencing management processes. This work details the emergence of network governance processes and concludes that network governance is likely to erode the traditional command and control authority of many formal government-mandated agencies, and potentially increase the transaction costs in fisheries management processes. However, this style of emergent management may also increase the robustness of management decisions.     

Implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: A policy perspective on regulatory,institutional and stakeholder impediments to effective implementation

The implementation of the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU Member States to draft a program of measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES). Central argument of this paper, based on an analysis of the unique, holistic character of the MSFD, is that social and political factors are having a major influence on this MSFD implementation process. More specifically, four potential impediments have been identified that are curtailing the drive towards the effective implementation of the scheme advanced by the Directive. First, scientific uncertainty about aggregated ecological pressure and drivers in relation to the different sectors clouds the definition of national programmes of measures and this in turn may lead to implementation-drift in achieving GES. Second, the scale of the ecosystem is different from the political and socio-economic scales of individual, sectoral decision-making and activities. Third, policy coordination is required on several levels, i.e. at the EU level, within the Regional Sea Conventions, at national level and between these three levels. Finally, the coming together of both stakeholder involvement organized for the MSFD and those of existing, sectoral policy domains makes fair and efficient stakeholder involvement challenging. This paper concludes that more attention should be rendered to establishing appropriate coordination and communication structures, which facilitate greater engagement with the different Directorates-General in the European Commission, the European Council and the Parliament, the Member States, sectoral decision making institutions as well as stakeholder interest groups.     

Governance characteristics of large marine ecosystems

The Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) concept is widely established as a large-scale approach to coastal and marine management. LME-oriented activities have focused mainly on natural sciences. Socioeconomic and governance aspects have only recently been receiving increased attention. The 64 LMEs that have been defined appeared to exhibit considerable diversity in characteristics that would be expected to affect governability. This paper explores two questions: (1) Do the LMEs vary widely enough in geopolitical complexity that different approaches to governance may be required for different LMEs? (2) Are there groups of LMEs within which one might take similar approaches to governance? The analysis demonstrates that there is considerable heterogeneity among LMEs with regard to characteristics that would be expected to affect governability. It concludes that a diversity of governance approaches will be required to cope with this heterogeneity. It also appears that LMEs can be grouped according to these characteristics. This suggests that different approaches could be considered for clusters rather than for individual LMEs and that there can be sharing of experience and learning within clusters. The types of relationships between features of LMEs and the ‘best’ approaches to marine governance are discussed in the context of emerging governance ideas.     

Understanding marine ecosystem based management: A literature review

Ecosystem based management takes into account the interconnectedness and interdependent nature of ecosystem components and emphasizes the importance of ecosystem structures and functions which provide a range of services. The concept has now been adopted by many international agreements and national governments and is in the process of being implemented. This paper seeks to review the literature and to analyze the understanding of the subject. The term is defined and its implementation in fisheries and for all marine uses is analyzed. It has been concluded that to understand marine ecosystem based management one must consider ecosystems as complex adaptive systems which can show changes at higher levels from actions and processes occurring at lower levels. Recognizing that humans are part of these complex adaptive systems is vital in that their actions along with other processes can lead to transformations in ecosystem functioning. This recognition is also important to show how society can sustainably exploit these resources and that the inclusion of all stakeholders in the management process is necessary to legitimize the process. The uses of the precautionary principle along with adaptive management are seen to be useful tools in implementing these insights into the management of natural resources. Finally, the need for reducing consumption of fish is considered.     

Division of the oceans and ecosystem management: A contrastive spatial evolution of marine fisheries governance

The world's oceans cover three quarters of the global surface and account for about 80% of products taken by humankind from the aquatic systems. The spatial dimensions critical to fishery activities and management have been under constant change for many years because of pressure from two major interdependent forces. The first, of a geopolitical and socio-economic nature, tends to extend national jurisdiction outwards as far as possible from the coast, at the same time fragmenting the ocean area and its jurisdictions into ever-smaller geographical units linked to increasingly localized and decentralized governing institutions. The second, newer force favors increasingly larger geographical management units corresponding as far as possible to a particular harvested ecosystem, i.e. the aggregate of target, associated and dependent species, their productive environment and the exploitation system. This article looks at these two trends and their implications, and examines their convergence in the development of a more modern and responsible form of governance of fisheries.     

Institutions and governance in the European Common Fisheries Policy: An empirical study of Spanish fishers' attitudes toward greater participation

Public participation in the decision-making process is a key element of good governance. In its latest proposals for reforming the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Commission acknowledges that management measures lack legitimacy without input from the fishers themselves and thus underscores the need to increase it and adapt it to local or regional conditions. This study analyzes Spanish fishermen's own views about their participation in the decision-making process. The results show that most fishers are in favor of more participation by themselves and by regional governments in the decision-making process.     

The social licence to operate and its role in marine governance: Insights from Australia

Traditionally, the ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) refers to the societal expectations imposed on corporate and commercial activities, often displayed by the willingness for corporations to go beyond the requirements of formal regulations. Alternatively, this paper investigates the emerging influence of the SLO in shaping government decisions regarding the use and impact of the marine environment and its resources. Using expert interviews, text analysis and case study analysis, this research delineated the contemporary SLO as it has manifested in Australian marine governance, with the results indicating that this is potentially occurring at a pace faster than can be systematically reacted to within the current political decision-making processes. Under these emerging conditions, the risk has been identified that traditional government decision-making and stakeholder consultation processes are lagging in their capacity to adapt to ensure that public policy processes can support and engage in this shifting dialogue and ensure the influence of information is appropriately weighted. This research highlights an emerging adjustment of community presence in marine governance and the immediate complexities and challenges this creates for government decision-making. In particular, it begins to explore the interaction of differing information, how this information is carried through communication channels, stakeholder behaviour, approaches to withholding or granting a SLO and the responsibility this carries.     

Implementing marine spatial planning: A policy perspective

Marine spatial planning is often confronted with different types of hurdles that make the implementation of plans and strategies more difficult than scientists and planners—who have done most of the preparatory work—have foreseen. How does this situation come about? Is it due to the lack of interest or will of politicians? Are the technical proposals and plans too complex or too far from reality? Do they cost too much without comparable benefits? What can be done to avoid this? Based on recent experience within Belgium, some suggestions for more effective implementation of marine spatial plans are presented in this paper from a policy-making perspective.     

Strategic coastal governance issues in Fiji: The challenges of integration

This paper examines the governance of coastal environments in Fiji with a view to identifying the strategic issues that constrain the achievement of integrated coastal management. Integration has, in recent years, become a major focus of efforts to improve environmental management in many parts of the world. This issue is pursued by using governance as a framework. The dominant concepts and strategies being used around the world in environmental governance are then considered as a prelude into the identification and discussion of the major governance issues affecting coastal management in Fiji. These are identified as: (i) integration and coordination, (ii) the need for system-wide governance reform, (iii) the degree of centralisation, (iv) coastal planning, (v) information and (vi) the capacity of governance.     

全球海洋治理视域下海洋资源资产负债表探析

全球海洋治理背景下,以国家为主体的海洋资源资产负债表能够宣示国家海洋主权,服务海洋开发决策,监管人类海洋行为。海洋资源资产负债表按照海洋资源类型进行核算,海洋资源负债按性质分为政府负债和使用权人负债。在计量上要审慎乐观,采用实物计量和货币计量,不宜低估海洋资源资产,也不宜高估海洋资源负债。海洋资源资产负债表体系以海洋资源资产负债表为主表,海洋资源资产和负债变动表为副表,各类海洋资源明细表为子表。国家应协调好海洋资源与陆地资源核算的范围,近海资源由沿海基层政府核算上报,其他海洋资源由自然资源部统一核算,最终汇总为国家海洋资源资产负债表。