The AMT data management experience

As the UK's national marine data centre, a key responsibility of the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is to provide data management support for the scientific activities of complex multi-disciplinary long-term research programmes. Since the initial cruise in 1995, the NERC funded Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) project has undertaken 18 north–south transects of the Atlantic Ocean. As the project has evolved there has been a steady growth in the number of participants, the volume of data, its complexity and the demand for data. BODC became involved in AMT in 2002 at the beginning of phase II of this programme and since then has provided continuous support to the AMT and the wider scientific community through the rescue, quality control, processing and access to the data. The data management is carried out by a team of specialists using a sophisticated infrastructure and hardware to manage, integrate and serve physical, biological and chemical data. Here, we discuss the approach adopted, techniques applied and some guiding principles for management of large multi-disciplinary programmes.     

The Indonesian experience in marine capacity building

Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. The 3.1 million km² seas cover about two-thirds of its territory. The 200 miles exclusive economic zone adds another 2.7 million km². Marine related programmes are given a high priority by the Indonesian government. During the last two decades a concerted effort in marine capacity building has been carried out through bilateral, regional and international co-operation. This effort included, among others, increasing manpower development, expanding and improving research facilities, establishing a national marine data centre, and improving communications and co-operation throughout the marine science community. The bilateral agreement with the Netherlands in the mid-1980s for the implementation of the Snellius II Programme, laid the intellectual basis for the Indonesian marine science capability. The necessary research vessels were obtained through bilateral co-operation with France. At present Indonesia operates: a network of tide gauges and current meter stations; two satellite ground stations; tropical radar wind profiling stations; a network of marine pollution stations; a number of ocean going, coastal and fisheries research vessels; and six SEAWATCH monitoring buoys. It is expected that Indonesia will play a major role in the western Pacific region in the near future. This paper gives a brief review of the Indonesian experience in developing a national marine capability.     

Developing marine historic environment management policy: The English Heritage experience

This paper provides an opportunity to examine the involvement of English Heritage in the development of policy and practice with particular regard to how archaeology and features of historic interest are addressed under national legislation, international conventions and EU law. In this paper we provide an explanation of action taken to support conservation, understanding and enjoyment of the historic environment, such as those sites that are legally protected as historic shipwreck sites, and other features that comprise the historic environment, but which are recognised and protected through other legal mechanisms e.g., military vessels and aeroplanes. It is apparent to us that when considering the management agenda for the marine environment attention is also given to archaeological material that predates tidal inundation, as well as the subsequent legacy of maritime activities. To support this approach we examine how the historic environment is defined and included in objectives, policy and law, such as the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, as well as other European or international programmes to promote marine policy and spatial planning. In the years since the National Heritage Act 2002, and the empowerment of English Heritage to support marine projects, we assess the production of explanatory statements and guidance to inform protection in recognition of how change may affect historic environment features. In addition, it is apparent that extensive development is now taking place further offshore (e.g., renewable power projects) and we direct attention at how English Heritage's role is affected by legally defined maritime territorial limits that dictate interpretation of what the marine environment comprises and how such limits influence regulatory controls placed on the management of cultural heritage.     

Lessons in precaution: The International Whaling Commission experience with precautionary management

The precautionary principle (PP) only represents a new approach to managing uncertainty in so far that it requires proponents of an activity or substance to provide evidence that the activity/substance is harmless, as opposed to the more traditional “trial and error” approach that has instead placed the burden of proof that something is harmful on its opponents. This article critiques the PP as a policy making tool for managing uncertainty, focusing on the epistemological problems it raises, before then using the International Whaling Commission's experience with precautionary approaches to wildlife management to demonstrate the principle's limits and weaknesses when applied in a highly politicised policymaking environment. The article concludes that while the PP offers some benefits for managing uncertainty, its vagueness and openness to broad interpretation can also result in its application creating, rather than limiting, risks and uncertainty.     

The first experience the transportation of deep-water methane hydrates in a container

Deep-water experiments on the transportation of collected samples of methane hydrates from a lake’s bottom to a support container were carried out as part of the MIRY na Baikale (2008–2009) expedition run by the Russian Academy of Sciences. High pressures and low temperatures are necessary for gas hydrates stability. As a sample of the hydrate is lifted to the water’s surface, it intensively decomposes into water and methane gas. To reduce the decomposition, we used a container in which the hydrate’s sample occurs in a gas medium rather than in water, which results in a substantial reduction in the rate of the heat exchange. At that, the gas for the container’s filling was supplied by the hydrate itself due to its partial decomposition. To estimate the method’s efficiency, we observed the hydrate’s decomposition during lifting from a depth of 1400 m using different transportation techniques such as gas- or water-filled containers or fixing the sample in the manipulator’s arm of the submersible. The sample in the gaseous medium was the only one that was safely delivered on board the support container, while the two others completely decomposed during the transportation. It is remarkable that all the samples started to decompose simultaneously at a depth of 380 m but their decomposition occurred at different rates.     

Norway's experience with ITQs

This paper discusses the development of ITQs in Norway. Even if some would deny that anything such exists, fisheries management in Norway has some unmistakable characteristics of an ITQ system. Both boatowners and policy makers have discovered the attractions of transferable quotas, the former as a means to increase their private profits, the latter as a vehicle to reduce fleet overcapacity. The slow evolution of transferability is mainly the result of ideological opposition and opposition to structural changes, the latter involving falling number of fishermen, changes in location of the fishing industry, and changed composition of the fishing fleet. The development of this system in the purse seine fleet and the fleet fishing for cod and similar species is traced. Then the concept of resource rent is discussed, as well as how it has become capitalized in quota values, which show up as a rise in value of long term assets of the fishing industry.     

Planning the sea: The French experience. Contribution to marine spatial planning perspectives

As marine spatial planning is developing, prompted by the European Union through common principles prescribed in a road map, it is important to disseminate and analyse what has been put forward as the French experience in this field. Hence, the experience of the schémas de mise en valeur de la mer immediately proves to be original in its framework and deeply rooted in French specificities. However, a further analysis of this procedure implemented over several decades highlights the perspectives that would be worth integrating into French and European considerations. This paper thus provides information referring to the SMVM experience, presents an analysis of its results, and attempts to draw lessons from it with regard to recent developments in French marine policy.     

Dealing with erosion along the Danube Delta coast. The CONSCIENCE experience towards a sustainable coastline management

The most severe shoreline retreat (over 20 m/year) along the Danube Delta coast has been recorded in the coastal stretch confined by the Sulina branch (north) and Sahalin spit island (south). This erosive trend is caused by the natural evolution of some stretches of the Danube Delta coast, but strongly enhanced by the human activities. Human interventions result in the dramatic decrease in quantity of sediments reaching the coast and in the disruption of natural sediment circulation in the coastal area. EUROSION FP5 Project developed four concepts to be used in coastal studies: coastal sediment cell, coastal resilience, favourable sediment status and strategic sediment reservoir. The main objectives of this study regard the application of the CONSCIENCE methodology and test of the concepts in order to identify and understand the main threats for Sulina - Sahalin littoral cell, especially the coastal erosion one, as well as to provide a sound working methodology for coastal managers to deal with these threats. The sediment budget computed in previous studies, as well as the field observations, indicate a lack of sediments for the littoral cell (unfavourable sediment status). In order to asses the vulnerability of the coast to short term extreme events (especially storms), simulations of water level changes were performed and calibrated with the field observations. A processes based numerical model was used to simulate the storm induced water level variations and the main input data were the bathymetry of the active beach, wind direction and speed (storm scenarios) and the characteristics of water and air. The results show large water level increases for the central part of the study zone, especially for northern wind directions.The main solution proposed to deal the problems arising from a sediment-starved coast, vulnerable to the extreme events, is artificial nourishment. Two strategic sediment reservoirs were identified, both of them at the northern boundary of the cell: the sediments dredged periodically from Sulina mouth and the sediments accumulated in Musura Bay, just north of Sulina jetties. The transfer of these sediments towards the central part of the littoral cell Sulina - Sahalin would decrease the erosion rates to a natural level and restore the natural coastal resilience. The methodology developed in CONSCIENCE Framework and applied to Danube Delta coastal zone provided good results when problems and solutions for the coastal zone were to be identified and tested. This methodology and its related results can be applied by the local coastal managers to Sulina - Sahalin littoral cell, while this experience can be extended to other similar environments facing the same problems.     

山东省东部沿海城市体验式旅游开发潜力研究

简要介绍了体验式旅游的基本概念,山东省东部沿海城市的体验式旅游的开发现状及存在问题,分析了山东体验式旅游的优势、劣势以及机遇、威胁。以青岛市为例,利用回归分析法得出旅游总人数相对于年份变化的预测方程,对旅游总人数进行了预测,与实际比较吻合。研究结果表明山东省东部沿海城市体验式旅游开发潜力较大,有广阔的发展前景。     

Operating experience with a BM-04 wave-tide gauge

A BM-04 microprocessor wave-tide gauge developed at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology is used for the acquisition of data on the parameters of surface waves (the mean height \(\bar h\), the mean period \(\bar \tau \), the frequency spectrum S(ω), and so on) and the mean sea level ζ. As a wave gauge, the instrument can be deployed on the sea floor, on piles, and so on at depths down to 10 m in the near-shore zone and can be mounted on subsurface buoys offshore. As a tide gauge, the instrument can be used at depths down to 6000 m. The instruments were successfully tested and intercalibrated in the Black and Baltic seas and the Sea of Okhotsk.     

A summary of European experience with shore nourishment

A recently completed European collaborative project focused on contributing to the improvement and harmonisation of present design practices for artificial nourishment schemes in Europe. An inventory of and a comparison between the major countries involved revealed significant differences between them regarding engineering methods and evaluation procedures, coastal zone management strategies and legal and financial frameworks. The design and evaluation methodologies were then reanalysed in order to provide harmonised recommendations. This analysis covered the monitoring and assessment of the performance of nourishment projects and the role of numerical models in design and evaluation. This paper summarises the conclusions obtained, uses two case studies as an illustration and gives a number of recommendations for achieving the objectives in the context of soft engineering works. The role of long-term monitoring at a regional scale is emphasised, advocating the use of innovative monitoring technologies together with the need for a better understanding and quantification of autonomous shoreline variability. Finally, suggestions for research are outlined, including such aspects as sediment grading and coupling between shoreline and profile change models.     

An NGO role in enhancing integrated coastal management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea: The MEDCOAST experience

In the early 1990s, integrated coastal management (ICM) in the Mediterranean basin found general acceptance as an important issue both at national and international levels, and since then it has been, though slowly, steadily developed. Donor organizations such as the European Union and the World Bank, and the UNEP's Mediterranean Action Plan played catalyst roles in this development by initiating and supporting pilot projects. In 1992, the European Union launched the Mediterranean programs in by 1999 which the environment, and especially the coastal environment, was considered as a priority issue. Parallel to this development, several NGO initiatives took place for public awareness on pressing coastal issues and in training and education. The idea of MEDCOAST, which is an NGO network of Euro-Mediterranean academic institutions, was born in 1990 and the new initiative was launched in two directions in 1993. One of these was the organization of the First International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment (2–5 November 1993, Antalya, Turkey), which placed strong emphasis on the management issues. The second was the development of a project proposal to the Med-Campus program of the European Union. The project, which had the title of Educational Programs in Coastal Zone Management, was selected for funding and became operational in early 1994. The first international training program organized by MEDCOAST was the MEDCOAST Institute 94: Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean. This three-week long training effort took place in August–September 1994. Since then, MEDCOAST organized eight training programs in by 1999 five different countries, which were participated by 173 professionals representing 31 countries. Development of an international Masters Degree program in ICM was the second goal of the MEDCOAST's Med-Campus project. Efforts for pursuing this goal are still continuing. This paper elaborates the potential for the NGO's contribution to training and education in the field of integrated coastal management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea by introducing the MEDCOAST experience. It presents the past and planned MEDCOAST efforts and discusses the strengths and limitations of the role of NGOs at the regional scale.     

Reclaiming the ancestral waters of indigenous peoples in the Philippines: The Tagbanua experience with fishing rights and indigenous rights

This paper discusses the impact of local and national policies in the Philippines on the participation of indigenous peoples in relation to fisheries management. Specifically, this research focuses on the Tagbanua, an indigenous group in Coron Island, Palawan, on the western side of the Philippines. The struggle of the Tagbanua in reclaiming their ancestral title to the land and sea reflects broader moves toward self-determination, which is critical not only to their ancestral lands and waters, but also to their survival. Indigenous rights are essential in addressing social justice and in giving a greater voice that encourages indigenous peoples towards self-governing institutions and common management of resources. Significantly, the fundamental development of indigenous peoples lies in the recognition of their rights in their ancestral domain and the preservation of their culture, tradition, system, practices and their natural resources. This paper examines the Tagbanua experience, through a critical exploration of institutions and property rights, with attention to corresponding effects in reducing conflict with other stakeholders in the area, and in affecting the sustainability of fishery resources.     

Unfinished business: Taiwan's experience with rights-based coastal fisheries management

This paper examines a case involving a mix of Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries, co-management and the competition for using coastal zones. In the 2000s, Taiwan's government initiated a remodeling of the fishery right system, which is a rights-based approach to fisheries management, as an attempt to address conflicts between fishers and developers regarding the use of coastal space and to put community-based co-management into practice. The paper particularly compares the system before and after 2000 and identifies areas of concern in the implementation of the remodeled system. The results show that the government's support for this system signifies progress in the right direction. However, concerns emerge, mostly involving fishers' low participation, fishermen's association's lack of technical skills and financial resources, and the division of management responsibility. The government is advised to play a more active role in dealing with these concerns. Finally, the paper reveals that the factor of competition for using coastal zones poses a challenge to co-management, and suggests a holistic view with integrated coastal management or marine spatial planning practices, for developing co-management under the fishery right system.