Stakeholder participation in ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management: A synthesis from European research projects

In this synthesis article, we claim that institutional innovation is required for ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management (EBAFM), and that such innovation can best be achieved by engaging in a delicate process of societal decision making. Current instances of participation in fisheries shed light on the societal processes required for such institutional innovation. We apply the IBEFish analytical frame to examine findings from recent European research on participation in fisheries management at different jurisdictional levels. We distil several issues of major concern for institutional innovation towards EBAFM. These concern information management, legitimacy, social dynamics and costs, as well as aspects of cross-scale and cross-sector integration of fisheries governance.     

Current issues in fisheries governance in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

In this paper we identify the critical issues which Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries must address in defining their approach to fisheries governance. We suggest practical measures which should be taken in order to deal with these issues. Emphasis is placed on institutional reform which builds a broader institutional base for resource management than has been common in the past. Fisheries administrations need to develop partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, particularly fisherfolk organizations. This includes strengthening the capacity of those organizations to participate in the management process. There is also the need to strengthen regional organizations within the Caribbean, in order that they may better manage shared resources within the region as well as participate in international management initiatives.     

Collaborative fisheries management in the Northeast US: Emerging initiatives and future directions

The nature of participation by fishing organizations in fisheries management in the Northeast US is changing. Evidence of this is the number of groups that are actively seeking opportunities for group governance of marine resources. This article explores emerging collaborative or co-management arrangements in this region (a process whereby decision-making is shared between federal/council level and fishery stakeholder groups) and the shift towards an ecosystem-based approach to the management of marine fisheries.This research suggests that it is an opportune time for the development of a regional policy in the Northeast that provides an enabling environment in support of decentralized governance of federally managed marine fisheries. It also suggests that these initiatives can play a key role in operationalizing ecosystem-based management.     

Integrated management councils: A conceptual model for ocean policy conflict management in Australia

Integrated management is a central theme of Australia's Oceans Policy (AOP). Improving integration across sectors and jurisdictions has been identified in a number of Australian initiatives in coastal and marine policy developed in the past decade. These initiatives include the Regional Marine Planning process under AOP undertaken in 2000–02 and commitments to a National Coastal Policy made in 2002. These initiatives have highlighted the need for institutional arrangements that address these two key dimensions of integration in the Australian marine environment. This paper reviews Australian initiatives in ocean and coastal policy and draws on lessons from Canadian experience to propose Integrated Management Councils as a ‘way forward’ for integrated and adaptive management focusing on the decentralization of power and community participation in the decision-making process.     

Mapping seascapes of international environmental arrangements in the Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI), adopted recently in response to the degradation of coastal and marine environments in the Southeast Asia-Pacific’s Coral Triangle, emphasises the need for using existing international and regional fora to promote implementation. Large-scale marine initiatives, including the CTI, very often must contend with a remarkably complex institutional system. This raises the question of whether and how such complexity can be conducive to marine resources management. To answer this question, this paper aims to better understand the governance context in which the CTI was established (i.e., map governance fragmentation/complexity), and explore how such a context may support the implementation of the CTI goals (i.e., examine normative interplay). To conduct this examination, it uses an objective method that allows users to view and explore institutional arrangements through a network approach. By documenting the system of existing institutions in the Coral Triangle, the study shows that the Coral Triangle governance system is illustrative of those of international environmental governance. It involves multiple policy domains, and features different institutional arrangements and variability in terms of geographical scope and main subject matter. Such a system is complex and fragmented, marked by jurisdiction and functional overlaps. The paper suggests interplay management, such as inter-institutional learning and enhancing institutional synergy, as a promising process to promote inter-institutional coordination.     

Evidence of a common understanding of proximate and distal drivers of reef health

Marine management has typically prioritised natural science methodological traditions as an evidence base for decision-making; yet better integration of social science methods are increasingly shown to provide a more comprehensive picture to base management decisions. Specifically, perceptions-based assessments are gaining support, as they can provide efficient and holistic evaluation regarding management issues. This study focuses on coral reefs because they are particularly threatened ecosystems, due to their ecological complexity, socio-economic importance, and the range of environmental drivers that impact them. Research has largely concentrated on assessing proximate threats to coral reefs. Less attention has been given to distal drivers, such as socio-economic and governance factors. A common understanding of threats related to coral reef degradation is critical for integrated management that takes account of peoples’ concerns. This study compares perceptions of drivers of reef health among stakeholders (n = 110) across different sectors and governance levels, in four Caribbean countries. Interview data identified 37 proximate and 136 distal drivers, categorised into 27 themes. Five sub-groups of themes connecting proximate and distal drivers were identified. Perceptions of two of these narratives, relating to ‘fishing and socioeconomic issues’ and ‘reef management and coastal development’, differed among respondents from different countries and sectors respectively. However, the findings highlight a shared perception of many themes, with 18 of the 27 (67%) mentioned by > 25% of respondents. This paper highlights the application of perceptions data for marine management, demonstrating how knowledge of proximate and distal drivers can be applied to identify important issues at different context-specific scales.     

Planning across boundaries for the conservation of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion

The Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) is an outstanding ecoregion situated within the center of global marine biodiversity. Three countries—Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines—share, and directly benefit from, the rich resources of the SSME. The deterioration of environmental conditions in the ecoregion indicates that the resource extraction has exceeded the natural capacity of this marine ecosystem for recovery. Shared boundaries, ecosystem dynamics and resources, as well as transboundary environmental issues (including human migration) justify an ecoregion approach to conserve the SSME.In 1999, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature and its partners launched the SSME Conservation Program. The Program adopts a two-pronged approach: planning for the conservation of the SSME and the implementation of immediate conservation actions on the ground. The ecoregion planning process involves the formulation of a Biodiversity Vision—a 50-year conservation goal—and the development of a stakeholders’ Ecoregion Conservation Plan (ECP) based on the ecoregion's Biodiversity Vision. Notable was a shift from a non-government organization-facilitated to a government-led planning process, and the establishment of interim governance mechanisms to ensure coordination in the development of the ECP. These interim mechanisms that operate within country and across countries during the planning phase of the SSME Program are perceived to evolve into formal institutional arrangements that are appropriate for the implementation of the ECP.     

Communicating risk through a DSS: A coastal risk centred empirical analysis

Risk communication has recently evolved from the design of unidirectional (from scientists to the public) information flow toward a more integrative deliberative procedures (involving scientists, policymakers, stakeholders and the general public) aimed at reconciling diverging social constructs of risk. Furthermore, risk communication is seen now as an activity that is transverse to the risk governance process as a whole. Risk communication is therefore part of the preassessment, appraisal, characterization/evaluation and management phases of risk governance. At the same time the development of risk management Decision Support Systems are increasingly geared at facilitating decision making while taking into account and streamlining all the phases of the risk governance process. These recent trends lead to a redefinition of the role of risk communication in the context of the development of DSS.This paper explores these issues by analysing how risk communication can be integrated into THESEUS's DSS. A first step of this analysis consists of applying grounded theory to analyse stakeholders' perception in three of THESEUS's application settings. We then compare this theorization to the grounded theorization of the foundational model of THESEUS's DSS. The result of this comparison points to diverging, yet not incompatible, paradigmatic views on the nature of coastal risks. These divergences are further analysed through semi-structured interviews with key informants involved in the development of the DSS.Building on these results we develop a communication scheme that should allow a progressive convergence of paradigmatic views occurring through the use of the DSS; we are thus proposing that the DSS in itself be a locus where risk communication as a deliberative practice occurs. In order to achieve this we propose that the cognitive pathways followed by DSS users be proactively designed and involves integrative exchanges between designers, users and policy makers.     

Ocean governance in the South Pacific region: Progress and plans for action

The Pacific Island Regional Ocean Policy (PIROP), which was released in 2002, provided the framework for ocean governance in the Pacific region. Since then there have been a myriad of policy documents and institutional arrangements that have been developed to address ocean governance issues, however, little progress has occurred with regard to the actual implementation of PIROP. This paper examines the region's progress in establishing integrated oceans management, and how this fits with the use of marine spatial planning and area based management tools, such as marine protected areas. It argues that policy making in this region encounters the usual difficulties with integrated policy approaches experienced elsewhere but that these difficulties are further accentuated when applied to developing nations that are highly dependent on external support. It suggests a way forward for the future with development of action plans, implementation and the practical application of those plans including a regional contextualisation/analysis of progress against regional objectives.     

Governance fit for climate change in a Caribbean coastal-marine context

Coastal-marine systems in small island developing states of the Caribbean are highly vulnerable to both current and future climate change. Societies navigate these changes in part through processes of governance and the institutions through which governance takes place. The concept of institutional adaptive capacity is used to explore how governance processes and institutional arrangements can be adapted to match the scale and extent of climate change in a case study of the Soufriere Marine Management Area, St. Lucia. Institutional adaptive capacity is analyzed based on the following factors: institutional variety, analytical deliberation and nesting and networks. The analysis is based on 36 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants from NGOs, cooperatives, management authorities and government agencies. The findings suggest that governance to address climate change in the case study is contingent upon developing holistic, integrated management systems, improving flexibility in existing collaborative decision making processes, augmenting the capacity of local management authorities with support from higher-level government, exploring opportunities for private–social partnerships, and developing adequate social–environmental monitoring programs. These findings have potential implications and lessons for similar settings throughout the Caribbean.     

Ecosystem-based marine management in European regional seas calls for nested governance structures and coordination—A policy brief

Marine governance in European seas is at a crossroad aiming towards implementation of eco-system based marine management (EBMM) through integration of different EU policies or directives to protect the environment, while at the same time expected to facilitate growth and employment in support of the blue economy. This article shows that the governance landscape at the regional sea level is very complex, fragmented and faced with several dilemmas. It examines the present governance structures in the four European seas (Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean Seas and North East Atlantic Ocean). It is argued that the implementation of EBMM at the regional sea level is characterized by a highly fragmented European governance system where there is lack of coordination between relevant DGs within the European Commission, between EU, International organisations, Regional Sea Conventions and the Member States and between sectoral governance arrangements that should provide sectoral management measures that support EBMM. The article develops suggestions for a nested governance system in which institutions, policies, laws and sectors are nested into a tiered, internally consistent and mutually re-enforcing planning and decision-making system. Developing institutional interaction and soft modes of governance between the EU, the Regional Sea Conventions, Member States and the governance arrangements of the different marine sectors will be crucial in evolving towards such a nested governance system for EBMM. Moreover, there is no one size fits all approach in implementing EBMM, which means that for each European Sea a context-dependent nested governance system should be developed.     

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.     

Flood and coastal erosion risk management policy evolution in Northern Ireland: “Incremental or leapfrogging?”

Climate change poses a significant challenge for the future of Northern Ireland’s coast due to impacts that include, inter alia, mean sea level rise of between 13 cm and 74 cm by 2050. Whilst flooding is regarded as a major hazard in the United Kingdom (UK), to date Northern Ireland’s experiences of coastal flooding have been infrequent and less severe compared to those in England and Wales. Similarly, coastal erosion has historically been, and remains, only a minor concern in Northern Ireland. Partly as a result of this, Government administrative arrangements for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) in Northern Ireland operate in the absence of any statutory provision for coastal erosion, as well as without formal or strategic shoreline management planning and any integrated flood and coastal erosion risk management policy. This paper provides a commentary on Northern Ireland’s approach to FCERM, comparing this with its UK counterparts, highlighting both congruence and divergence in policy evolution and development. It is noted that the recent EU Floods Directive has been a significant catalyst and that the current institutional landscape for FCERM is in flux.     

Coastal risk adaptation: the potential role of accessible geospatial Big Data

Increasing numbers of people are living in and using coastal areas. Combined with the presence of pervasive coastal threats, such as flooding and erosion, this is having widespread impacts on coastal populations, infrastructure and ecosystems. For the right adaptive strategies to be adopted, and planning decisions to be made, rigorous evaluation of the available options is required. This evaluation hinges on the availability and use of suitable datasets. For knowledge to be derived from coastal datasets, such data needs to be combined and analysed in an effective manner. This paper reviews a wide range of literature relating to data-driven approaches to coastal risk evaluation, revealing how limitations have been imposed on many of these methods, due to restrictions in computing power and access to data. The rapidly emerging field of ‘Big Data’ can help overcome many of these hurdles. ‘Big Data’ involves powerful computer infrastructures, enabling storage, processing and real-time analysis of large volumes and varieties of data, in a fast and reliable manner. Through consideration of examples of how ‘Big Data’ technologies are being applied to fields related to coastal risk, it becomes apparent that geospatial Big Data solutions hold clear potential to improve the process of risk based decision making on the coast. ‘Big Data’ does not provide a stand-alone solution to the issues and gaps outlined in this paper, yet these technological methods hold the potential to optimise data-driven approaches, enabling robust risk profiles to be generated for coastal regions.     

Integrating science and management on coastal marine protected areas in the Southern Gulf of Mexico

The coastal zone of the State of Campeche have some of the Gulf of Mexico’s richest ecosystems characterized by extensive seagrasses, mangrove forests, low-land tidal wetlands, a broad deltaic environment, including the Usumacinta/Laguna de Terminos estuarine ecosystem, and extensive low salinities and brackish wetlands in the Petenes region. Commercial and artisanal fishing, maritime transport, agriculture and cattle grazing in low-land areas, urban expansion, building of highways, and tourism, are important economics activities that are increasing in the State of Campeche. However, the growth needs to occur in a sustainable manner with adequate protection of the coastal ecosystems. The theoretical approach and conceptual basis of the integrated coastal management plan are based on 20 years of scientific research in the region; and from 1990 to the present, a number of projects have been completed which serve as case studies of coastal management coupling science, technology, public participation, and policymaking in the southern Gulf of Mexico. After developing seven “study case” integrating science into policymaking, a management approach was developed considering four main actions: promotion of institutional arrangements, so that the multi-sectorial planning approach be considered in coastal resources development; strengthening of public awareness related to coastal resources management policies and capabilities; gathering, analysis and dissemination of information related to coastal resources development; and provision of technical solutions to coastal resources uses in conflict. Finally this is a case study where science played a significant role in the politics of the policy process, both in protecting key estuarine ecosystem and the planning process defining the ICZM plans.     

Coastal zone management focusing on coastal tourism in a transitional period of China

Coastal zone management in China has undergone a developmental leap since 1978, a turning point in the country's economic and institutional reform. In examining China's reform in coastal management, this paper assesses the evolution of marine activities including coastal tourism. It also looks into the present issues of coastal resource uses and how administrative agencies responded to those coastal resource issues especially as the country moves from a planned economy to a market economy, and from centralized governance to decentralized governance. This paper also proposes a management approach for coastal tourism management in the future of China.     

Fragmentation in high seas fisheries: Preliminary reflections on a global oceans governance approach

Notwithstanding the wide range of actions taken to strengthen the legal regime of international fisheries, overexploitation and the risk of depletion of stocks have been strong concerns for decades. Indeed, the regime of international fisheries law is currently not rooted in sustainability, and it does not adequately take into consideration the impact of fishing activities on the wider marine environment. One of the main causes lies in fragmentation of international fisheries law: a lack of coordination between instruments and institutions, and gaps in effective coherent structures for fisheries management. Areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), including the high seas, are particularly prone to this lack of coordination and integration.One alternative to reach a durable management of high seas fisheries might be found in a ‘global oceans governance approach’. This paper explores how this approach could impact the fragmented regime of fisheries. It suggests that governance-based perspectives underline concepts rooted in adaptability and interactions, concepts that suggest to approach international fisheries law not as a static set of rules but as an evolutive process. Reflecting on an overarching goal of coordination and possible management challenges in ABNJ provides an interesting starting point to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of oceans governance on the fragmented legal regime of high seas fisheries. We now need to see how to give effect to governance, a task that remains, at this point, a work in progress.     

浙沪小洋山空间合作开发的治理机制及启示

跨地区空间合作开发是区域一体化发展的重要举措,有利于各地区在土地资源共享、要素自由流动的前提下促进生产力跨地区布局,实现区域协调发展。浙沪小洋山空间合作是省际毗邻区合作开发的典型案例,双方通过多次协商构建了有效的合作治理机制,对合作方式、管理运行、利益分享等重大问题作出明确的制度安排,对于长三角一体化背景下推动省际、市际毗邻区合作具有较强的启示意义。     

The cooperative framework for ocean and coastal management in the Pacific Islands: Effectiveness,constraints and future direction

The framework for management of the ocean and coasts of the Pacific Islands region has been evolving since the early 1970s when Pacific Island countries played a significant role in the negotiations leading to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Commencing with a summary of the provisions of relevant international instruments, this paper presents a broad overview of regional arrangements for ocean and coastal management in the Pacific Islands region. It considers the work of the various regional intergovernmental organizations with active programmes in ocean research and governance and the consultative arrangements that support coordination and collaboration. Consultative arrangements involving other stakeholders, such as local, regional and international nongovernmental organizations are summarised. To improve environmental governance and address increasing environmental threats, particularly in relation to coastal area management, consultative arrangements need strengthening. This applies equally to national and regional level consultation. The institutional and policy framework for the management and conservation of oceanic fish stocks that Pacific Island countries have been refining over a period of 25 years is suggested as providing useful lessons for strengthening coastal management processes and strategies in the region.     

Fisheries management in Central Maluku,Indonesia, 1997–98

Interviews with government staff responsible for fisheries management in Maluku, Indonesia in 1997–98 revealed problems in capacity, and an emphasis on economic development rather than management. The traditional institutions which persisted in some villages to regulate the access and withdrawal rights over key inshore species, were also disjunct from government departments. The period following December 1998 is marked by political upheaval, legislative change that (in theory) decentralized governance over inshore waters, and violent unrest centered in Maluku. All these make the data collected in 1997–98 of historical interest. The state of fisheries management in Maluku remains undefined, pending further legislative reform and peace that will allow governments and communities to negotiate and implement new institutional arrangements.