by Sarah Carr, Ph.D. | May 23, 2015
Dear MEAM,
I'm writing with regard to your article "Turning science into policy: What scientists should (and should not) do when talking to policy-makers" (MEAM 8: 3).
Career scientists may have a pretty high comfort level with placing some theoretical constructs between the data and their functional interpretation. It's one of the best ways to make a career, in fact. However, in the policy-making world, the comfort level with such practices is much lower. There are several reasons, although "policy-makers are just not smart enough to understand ecological theory" is not one of them. Part of the reason is just the opposite: policy-makers feel that may be just as good as scientists at filtering data through theoretical constructs.
by John Davis | Apr 28, 2015
The UK Government has indicated its intent to designate an MPA around the Pitcairn Islands, a remote and lightly populated UK territory in the South Pacific, midway between New Zealand and Peru. It is anticipated that the MPA would encompass the islands’ entire...
by John Davis | Apr 28, 2015
In January of this year, the United Nations agreed to develop a legally binding treaty on high seas biodiversity (“Notes & news”, MPA News 16:3). This decision by UN Member States is a promising development for high seas conservation. Effectively, such...
by John Davis | Apr 28, 2015
One of the main challenges facing MPAs is securing enough funding to meet their program and staffing needs. MPAs are typically dependent on government sources for most or all of their funding. In an era of budgetary cutbacks, this has led to financial shortfalls for...
by John Davis | Apr 28, 2015
By Jayson Horadam and Emma Doyle
In recent months, several MPA managers in the Caribbean region have been approached by various firms that produce drone technology. These firms have marketed the potential benefits of air- or sea-based drones to MPA management, particularly with regard to enforcement. (We acknowledge that drones may also be of use in environmental monitoring of MPAs, but we focus here on the enforcement implications.)
Drones remain a relatively new technology, and few MPA managers have direct experience with them yet. In this light, some of the MPA managers who have been approached asked us for our input on the value of drones. We are providing our advice here in hopes that it may be of use to the broader MPA community, beyond just the Caribbean.
