The Skimmer on Marine Ecosystems and Management

Incorporating the Social Sciences in Ocean Planning: Trends and Possibilities

Successful management and conservation of marine ecosystems depends as much on understanding humans as it does on understanding marine organisms and their environment. Human impacts on marine ecosystem health are extensive and often detrimental (e.g., www.nceas.ucsb.edu/globalmarine). At the same time, humans benefit significantly from healthy marine ecosystems and, thus, from…

Notes & News: Global MSP indicator – Oceans at/past carrying capacity – Ocean governance reform – Responding to climate change – Connecticut MSP legislation – UK Blue New Deal – Belize ecosystem services framework – Redistribution of marine biodiversity

Global MSP indicator proposed for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals In September 2015, the United Nations adopted a post-2015 development agenda focused on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets. These SDGs aim to improve development and put all countries, wealthy and poor, on a pathway to sustainability by…

From the Archives: Payment for ecosystem services: An idea whose time has come for marine resource management? (MEAM October-November 2014, Issue 8:1)

Editor’s Note: From the Archives is a new feature to call attention to past MEAM articles whose perspectives and insight remain relevant. Highlights: Strengthening the business case for Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Gaining support from stakeholders for a PES program PES as an application of the precautionary principle PES…

From the Editor: Big Changes at MEAM

Dear MEAM Subscribers, There are several big changes happening at MEAM this month. First and foremost, MEAM is becoming what we informally refer to as ‘eMEAM’: an all-electronic newsletter that will be published monthly and feature even more applied, practitioner-focused content. If you previously received MEAM in paper format only,…

Planning Canada’s Pacific Coast: What Made it Work

In April 2015, the Marine Planning Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) released plans for over 100,000 km2 of the coastal waters of the Canadian province of British Columbia — making it the largest area in North America covered by ocean plans. The MaPP process was formally initiated in…

Notes & News: Handbook analyzes EBM policies – European offshore wind power growing rapidly – Construction starts on first US wind farm – MSP process launched in Malaysian biodiversity hotspot – Principles help managers avoid dramatic ecosystem shifts

Handbook analyzes ocean EBM policies from around the world The “Routledge Handbook of National and Regional Ocean Policies” presents in-depth analyses of the ocean policies of 15 developed and developing nations and 4 regions of the world that have taken steps to implement integrated, ecosystem-based governance of ocean areas under…