The Skimmer on Marine Ecosystems and Management
EBM Toolbox: Yes, There Are Apps for EBM (Part 1)
Editor’s note: The goal of The EBM Toolbox is to promote awareness of tools for facilitating EBM processes. It is brought to you by the EBM Tools Network, a voluntary alliance of tool users, developers, and training providers. By Sarah Carr A year ago in this column, I remarked on…
How Detailed Mapping of the Sea Floor Is Informing Ecosystem-Based Management
A habitat map, in its most basic sense, shows where particular plants and animals are likely to live. A map that shows the location of coral reefs, for example, suggests where there will be reef-associated species. Likewise for other seafloor habitats – sandy bottom, seamounts, seagrass meadows, and so forth….
Improved Seafloor Maps and The Gully
By Paul Macnab, Manager, The Gully Marine Protected Area, Canada Until 1997, hydrographic coverage of The Gully, the largest submarine canyon in eastern North America, was minimal, with only 1% surveyed using single beam methods and widely-spaced vessel transects. Thankfully, that spotty treatment was expanded with multibeam surveys that supported…
Tundi’s Take: The Allure of Fancy Maps – Do They Present False Promises?
By Tundi Agardy, MEAM Contributing Editor (tundiagardy@earthlink.net) We are light-years ahead of where we were just 20 years ago in terms of collecting, analyzing, and using spatial information to support marine management. I remember a time, not so long ago, when understanding of where the important areas were, and what…
Letters to the Editor: Stakeholder Engagement in EBM
The lead article in our October/November 2011 issue was on stakeholder engagement in EBM, including the potential benefits and challenges associated with such involvement. We received several responses, including the letters below. On direct and indirect consequences of extensive stakeholder engagement Dear MEAM: The recent MEAM issue on stakeholder involvement…
EBM Toolbox: Tools for Stakeholder Engagement (Part 2)
Editor’s note: The goal of The EBM Toolbox is to promote awareness of tools for facilitating EBM processes. It is brought to you by the EBM Tools Network, a voluntary alliance of tool users, developers, and training providers. By Sarah Carr In the previous issue of MEAM (October/November 2011), The…
Notes & News: Ocean sustainability – European coastal management – US marine data – Coastal governance – Arctic marine EBM – Arabian Gulf ecosystems – EU marine spatial planning – Marine debris forum
UN report offers blueprint for ocean, coastal sustainability A new report co-produced by several UN agencies (UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, IOC, and IMO) lays out the contribution of oceans and coasts to global sustainability and the roles of ocean sectors in the Green Economy. It also offers several proposals for reducing…
Making the Most of Stakeholder Involvement in EBM: Practitioners and Researchers Share their Insights
In ecosystem-based management, people are considered to be part of the ecosystem. As such, EBM decisions not only take ecological factors into account but also the economic and social conditions that affect, or are affected by, the environment. The idea is to build a framework for management that ensures a…
Tundi’s Take: Finding the Right Representatives of Stakeholder Constituencies – an Essential but Challenging Task
By Tundi Agardy, MEAM Contributing Editor (tundiagardy@earthlink.net) Participatory planning is the Holy Grail of EBM. Reaching out to stakeholders to determine a group vision for the coastal or marine area to be managed, bringing stakeholders into the planning process, and actively involving user groups in management are each thought to…
Profiles in EBM: Sustaining Ecosystems, Supporting Human Well-Being in The Bahamas
[Editor's note: Ecosystem-based management is as much a process as an endpoint. It does not require a single giant leap from traditional, sectoral management to fully integrated, comprehensive management. Rather, it can be achieved in a step-by-step, adaptive manner. In our new "Profiles in EBM" feature, MEAM will briefly highlight…