The Skimmer on Marine Ecosystems and Management
New Tool Provides a Roadmap toward Marine and Coastal EBM
A new Web-based tool exists to guide practitioners on moving EBM from concept to practice. Called the EBM Roadmap, its target audience is marine resource managers who already have some knowledge of EBM but need advice on implementing it. The EBM Roadmap is available at www.ebmtools.org/roadmap.html. "In developing the Roadmap,…
Letter to the Editor: Impacts of climate change on rainfall, and consequences for marine and coastal systems
Dear MEAM: I am writing in response to "Tundi's Take: Using Science to Plan for Climate Change" in your December 2009/January 2010 issue. For near-shore marine systems and estuaries, it is critical to understand the impacts of climate change on rainfall, both patterns and precipitation rates, and the consequences of…
Notes & News: US – Massachusetts – EBM advice – Solomon Islands – Balancing species and ecosystems – Nordic region – Oceans and climate – Geotechnologies and spatial planning
In US, interim framework released for marine spatial planning The US Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force released an interim framework in December 2009 that proposes guidance for a system of coastal and marine spatial planning in US waters. Under the framework, the planning would be carried out on a regional…
EBM Toolbox: Social science tools for ecosystem-based management
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 The Social Science Working Group of the EBM Tools…
EBM in a Changing World: Strategies for Proactive Management Amid Climate Change
In the months that led up to December’s UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, reports forecasting the environmental and socio-economic impacts to come from climate change were sobering. The future for our coasts and oceans? Rising sea levels and coastal flooding. Increased acidification of seawater. Coral bleaching. Poleward shifts in…
Tundi’s Take: Using Science to Plan for Climate Change
By Tundi Agardy, MEAM Contributing Editor. E-mail: tundiagardy@earthlink.net Climate change may change everything, even in the vast and resilient global ocean. How can managers be proactive about climate-induced changes? What kinds of information do they need? How can they work around (or with) the substantial uncertainties that surround how ecosystems…
Letters to the Editor
Without zoning, marine planning will be ineffective Dear MEAM: I totally agree with Tundi Agardy ("MSP in Europe: Can MSP Help Achieve EBM without Ocean Zoning?", MEAM 3:2). I am concerned that certain proposals for marine planning are concentrating far too much on just integrating different user interests and balancing…
Mapping Human Activities and Impacts on the Ocean: Interviews with Two Practitioners
Marine spatial planning (MSP) aims to organize the use of marine space in a way that balances demands for development with the need to protect ocean ecosystems. By allocating specific human activities to particular areas, MSP can help reduce user conflicts (when there is spatial overlap among uses) as well…
EBM Toolbox: Tools for Ecological and Socioeconomic Monitoring
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 (www.ebmtools.org), a voluntary alliance of tool users, developers, and training providers. By Sarah Carr Monitoring a variety of ecological and socioeconomic indicators…
Notes & News: UK – South Africa – Spatial planning presentations
UK passes Marine and Coastal Access Act In November, the UK passed the Marine and Coastal Access Act, establishing a wide-ranging policy to enhance protection of the marine environment, improve fisheries management, and allow for easier coastal access. The Act also lays the framework for developing a national marine planning…