The Adaptive Marine Policy (AMP) toolbox: Supporting policy-makers developing adaptive policies in the Mediterranean and Black Sea

Adaptive management is essential to the practical application of the Ecosystem-Based Approach (EBA). Despite there are frequent assertions that adaptive management is being used, evidence on its success is still limited. Indeed, it is difficult to bring the different elements of adaptive management together in a robust way and to choose the appropriate tools to do it. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a practical framework for adaptive policy action, consistent with the EBA. Accordingly, to operationalize the design and implementation of adaptive policies on the basis of the EBA, the Adaptive Marine Policy toolbox has been developed. The objective of the toolbox is to provide policy-makers a practical framework to design and implement adaptive policies. To show the functionality of the toolbox, the guidelines and resources provided within the toolbox have been applied to the marine litter issue in the Mediterranean and Black Sea as an example. The example application has shown that the toolbox is a useful and operational framework to build a science-policy interface according to the EBA. Despite some resources could be missing from the toolbox, they provide a practical and useful starting point to support the application of the different steps and key activities.     

A critical examination of the seafaring English education and training in China

The increased maritime accidents attributable to communication barriers have raised great concern about international shipping safety. The requirement for effective communication has been contained in the compulsory part of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers in 2010. However, many Chinese seafarers still experience difficulty in communicating with foreign seafarers at sea even though they passed the English exams required for a Certificate of Competency. Literature argues that the outcomes of maritime English education are not satisfactory. However, this claim is too general and has not been substantiated with empirical evidence. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper reveals that English communicative incompetence of Chinese seafarers was attributable to the maritime English examinations system, teaching materials, teaching methods and teachers and students themselves. Recommendations were made to improve maritime cadets’ English communicative competence.     

King Canute muses in the South Seas: Why aren’t Pacific Islands transitioning to low carbon sea transport futures?

Transition to low carbon sea transport is a logical response to the extreme dependency of the Pacific Islands region on imported fossil fuel, its significant vulnerability to the effects of climate change and the critical shipping needs of Pacific Island countries (PICs). Building on previous work in low carbon sea transport in the Pacific, this paper further considers the barriers to achieving such transition by assessing, through a ‘post-Paris Agreement’ lens, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted by PICs and contrasting these to the near total lack of investment and planning for low carbon transition in the transport sector with the parallel occurrence in the electricity sector where ~USD 2 billion of donor investment is deployed or queued despite electricity using only ~20% of fossil fuel across the region. Consistent with recent international studies, inadequate and inappropriate financing and policy have been identified as dominant transition barriers for low carbon sea transport development in PICs. This paper further examines the regional level barriers to policy development, and finds them inhibited by the silo nature of the major regional actors. The implications that the Paris Agreement has for climate financing to support the essential research and capacity development needed to underpin a successful low carbon sea transport transition strategy at any useful scale and speed are also considered in this paper.     

Communicating research on the economic valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services

Quantifying the monetary value of ecosystem services (ES) provided by coastal and marine resources can help policy makers assess the trade-offs and synergies inherent in ecosystem-based management of marine and coastal environments, thus increasing the social efficiency of decision-making processes. As shown by the valuation literature, the number of coastal and marine management settings where valuation researchers have attempted to make a contribution is rising fast. However, this rise in research activity has not been matched by the increase in the use of economic valuation (EV) in the actual management of coastal and marine resources. This raises an interesting question: is EV responding to the needs of policy makers? This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge base regarding the economic values for coastal and marine ecosystems. It then discusses how to improve the uptake of ES valuation research by focussing on two core issues which are thought to be essential for more effective communication with the policy community.     

海上丝路文化在雷州的传播、影响及其开发利用

在分析雷州具有临海、港湾众多等自然地理特征,是中国海上丝路必经之地的历史基础上,阐述海上丝路文化在雷州广泛而深入的传播,在农业土地利用、器艺制作、建筑、以佛教和妈祖崇拜为主的观念文化等方面留下深刻影响,并在很大程度上决定雷州文化具有多元、海洋、开放、包容、冒险等文化特质和风格。在当代背景下,应充分认识雷州海上丝路文化资源的历史价值、科研价值和经济价值,并通过开展海上丝路文化古迹普查,建立区域合作关系,构建海丝会展平台,进行宗教文化交流,参与海上丝绸之路申遗等途径,对雷州海上丝路文化资源加以深度发掘及开发利用,为建设“一带一路”之海上丝路服务。     

关于全国地震重点监视防御区制度实施现状、成效之调查、设计的说明

为评估全国地震重点监视防御区制度的实施现状、成效,课题组对相关问题进行了定性和定量研究,定量研究以系列问卷调查为主,包括政府、社区和公众问卷等。本文重点说明了系列问卷调查的设计、抽样以及回收情况,并对问卷调查发现的问题做了简单介绍。     

The Portuguese maritime spatial plan

Numerous national governments and supranational organizations such as the OSPAR Commission, the European Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have underlined the importance of maritime spatial planning (MSP) for balancing and solving conflicts between the needs of different sectors and conservation in the marine space. In the last decade, many maritime spatial plans have been developed around the world. The drivers to develop these plans and the approaches to find solutions for the particular problems differ significantly. The Portuguese national marine jurisdiction is one of the largest in Europe. For the continental part, a maritime spatial plan was initiated in 2009, and entered in 2010 in the final stage of approval. One of the driving forces for this MSP initiative was the claim to extend its continental shelf. The development process was led by a multidisciplinary team. Despite the challenges, the existing as well as potential future marine resources and activities were characterized, mapped and categorized. To overcome conflicts resulting from the many overlapping uses and to assure sustainable development of all sectors, a conflict analysis and evaluation of potential future uses were necessary. The applied zoning scheme represented an exercise of conflict solving and proved to be a powerful tool to promote discussion and participation among stakeholders. The successful implementation of Portuguese MSP will rely largely on its ability to provide efficient management, financial and legal mechanisms to achieve the integration of all strategies and spaces under the Portuguese maritime jurisdiction.     

The Common Fisheries Policy: An enforcement problem

Marine populations in Europe are in decline due to the unsuccessful results of the Common Fisheries Policy. By combining data of scientific recommendations from ICES, TACs approved and reported landings with an age-structured model, the objectives of this paper are to investigate the level of compliance of the TAC regulation, and the level of enforcement and its economic impact on fishery resources. The results presented here suggest that while there does not exist a regular pattern between TAC proposal and TAC approved, there is a clear pattern between TAC approved and reported landings. As a consequence, there is a regular lack of enforcement at national fisheries authority level. The paper also presents results of the recovery plans for the Southern hake and the Atlantic cod fisheries as case studies to illustrate the level of enforcement based on collusion between national fisheries advisers and industry. The results from both cases studies analyzed here indicate that drastic solutions could generate positive results for the recovery of the stocks, but perhaps they are not always the best measure in fisheries management due to the high economic losses for fishermen and social effects on coastal communities in the short and medium term. Finally, this work demonstrates that if the recovery plans had been implemented, the net present profits for both fisheries would have increased over time.     

'There is a tide': An examination of the evolution of New Zealand Coastal Policy Statements

Abstract:   In this paper the proposed New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement is set within the context of its Resource Management Act legislative framework and in terms of the evolution of the fundamental influence of policy statements on coastal management in New Zealand. This discussion is coupled with an examination of the development of strong policy directions in the proposed statement and the potential impact of giving effect to these policies on the regional and unitary authorities tasked with this responsibility.