Bridging the Science-Policy Gap – Toward Better Integration of Decision Support Tools in Coastal and Marine Policy Implementation

Schumacher, Johanna; Bergqvist, Lisa; Beest, Floris M. van; Carstensen, Jacob; Gustafsson, Bo; Hasler, Berit; Fleming, Vivi; Nygård, Henrik; Pakalniete, Kristīne; Sokolov, Alexander; Zandersen, Marianne; Schernewski, Gerald

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.587500

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We continued this discussion during the in‐person workshop to (1) gain insight into how likely the advisory panel and their stakeholders would be to use DSTs and (2) follow recommendations that the DST should be co‐developed with end‐users (Schumacher et al. 2020). Primarily, the panel expressed that they would like a DST to show different nutrient load reduction scenarios and fish biomass as well as showing ecosystem “winners” and “losers” over long‐term nutrient reduction.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Responses indicated that the ecosystem model would be useful to compare with stock assessments, inform stock assessments, communicate results with agencies, advance ecosystem-based fisheries management, inform the Louisiana Nutrient Management Strategy, and inform strategic decision making. We continued this discussion during the in-person workshop to (1) gain insight into how likely the advisory panel and their stakeholders would be to use DSTs and (2) follow recommendations that the DST should be co-developed with end-users (Schumacher et al 2020). Primarily, the panel expressed that they would like a DST to show different nutrient load reduction scenarios and fish biomass as well as showing ecosystem "winners" and "losers" over long-term nutrient reduction.…”

Section: What Levels Of Uncertainty Are Acceptable To Management?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Action science in practice: Co‐production of a decision support tool visualizing effects of nutrient and hypoxia reduction goals on fisheries species

Shaffer,

Marriott,

Lewis

et al. 2023

Mar Coast Fish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveThe Gulf of Mexico hosts some of the most productive fisheries in the United States, whereas the same region is known to experience environmental stressors, such as summer hypoxia. Ecosystem models have been developed for the Gulf of Mexico to determine how hypoxia affects living marine resources, but these models and their output are not always easy to access or interpret by managers, thereby decreasing their implementation in a management setting. To help alleviate the gap between ecosystem model development and management utility, the current study focuses on co‐produced, user‐friendly tools that describe the effects of nutrient and hypoxia reductions on marine living resources.MethodsTwo decisions were made prior to the ecosystem model development to facilitate the transfer of model output: (1) to engage and consult fisheries and restoration managers throughout ecosystem model development to ensure that the output would provide relevant information; and (2) to provide an accessible visualization tool for making ecosystem model output readily available to support the needs of decision makers.ResultResults from an advisory panel survey instrument and advisory panel meetings guided ecosystem model development and launched the development of a decision support tool. The iterative process of building a decision support tool incorporating feedback from survey instrument respondents resulted in an ESRI ArcGIS Dashboard that allows end‐users to identify the effects of hypoxia and respondent‐specified nutrient and hypoxia reduction goals on the biomass and distribution of fisheries species.ConclusionThe intent is to aid managers who are actively working to address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico with easy‐to‐access information on the effects of planned actions and to encourage future modelers to apply action science principles to best address the needs of decision makers.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Levels Of Uncertainty Are Acceptable To Management?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Action science in practice: Co‐production of a decision support tool visualizing effects of nutrient and hypoxia reduction goals on fisheries species

Shaffer,

Marriott,

Lewis

et al. 2023

Mar Coast Fish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is further emphasized that the ability to understand and manage such a complex socioecological system therefore requires a systems analysis approach which has a solid underpinning theoretical framework, but which is then able to be implemented by stakeholders (Elliott et al, 2020b). As such, a simplicity of implementation, flexibility, and transparency are key to this process, as it enhances acceptance by key stakeholders, especially as a decision support tool (Nygård et al, 2020;Schumacher et al, 2020).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the cumulative impacts of multiple human pressures in marine systems, for the sustainable use of the seas

Borja,

Elliott,

Teixeira

et al. 2024

Front. Ocean Sustain.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human activities at sea have increased, causing subsequent degradation of ocean health and affecting ecosystem services and societal goods and benefits. Climate change further exacerbates the cumulative effects of these activities and their associated pressures. Hence, effective management of these multiple activities is imperative to ensure the sustainable use of the ocean. In response to these challenges, we have developed a comprehensive conceptual framework model within an ecosystem-based approach. This framework encompasses a versatile toolbox designed to assess cumulative pressures effects and the environmental status under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, in compliance with the Birds and Habitats Directives requirements and the need to secure the maintenance of ecosystem services and provision of societal benefits. Although we use European examples in the current discussion, we consider that there are similar challenges in many seas worldwide and so the recommendations here are widely applicable. Our aim is to facilitate the validation, harmonization, and demonstration of this toolbox across European regional seas and several countries, at different scales, from local to regional, including overseas territories. This approach aims to foster comparability in environmental status assessments. We anticipate that the proposed methodologies will serve as a foundational benchmark against which progress can be assessed in line with expectations and policy requirements. Additionally, this work prepares the groundwork for the forthcoming evaluation of the suitability, robustness, and applicability of these solutions and tools, thereby assisting managers in achieving Good Environmental Status (GES), both in European and wider global contexts, to address challenges which are common worldwide.

show abstract

“…Whether they are used in MSP depends on these tools being easily accessible, easily understandable, and not too resource demanding [16]. A comprehensive survey in the Baltic Sea region highlights the need among MSP practitioners for improved user guidelines and online training on how to use spatial DSTs [17]. With online tutorials and webinars, more users are likely to use the tools [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MYTILUS has been further extended during the BONUS BASMATI project to include various tools for scenario building in addition to CIA to support MSP processes. Pınarbaşı et al (2017) [15] argued how "education and training should be a prerequisite to introducing a DST into the MSP process" and that the "importance of educating and training non-technical users, including marine planners and stakeholders may be underestimated by DST developers and advocates", points supported by Schumacher et al (2020) [17] who recommended the development of "user-friendly guidelines" for end-users in public authorities regarding applying spatial DSTs. This research presents the systematic building stones of a new MYTILUS training set developed for a workshop in December 2021 in the Interreg BSR Capacity4MSP project and tested as part of an online PhD course in January 2022 in the ERASMUS+ project Knowledge Flows in MSP in active learning environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilising MYTILUS for Active Learning to Compare Cumulative Impacts on the Marine Environment in Different Planning Scenarios

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial tools to calculate cumulative impact assessments on the environment (CIA) are important contributors to the implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to maritime spatial planning (MSP). Ecosystem dynamics are increasingly important to understand as the activities and pressures in marine areas increase. Results from the application of a new training set for the CIA tool MYTILUS, developed in capacity-building MSP projects for active learning environments, illustrate important points on how the CIA method can be used in systematic scenario design. The feedback from its use in an online PhD course outlines how the training set successfully enables researchers from different disciplines and different parts of the world to meet the CIA approach with such interest and understanding that it enables them to highlight the strengths as well as the shortcomings of the tool interface, tool capabilities, and CIA method, even when none of these researchers are CIA experts. These promising results are presented in this paper and advocate for the increasing use of MYTILUS and similar CIA tools in MSP stakeholder sessions where no preliminary CIA expertise can be expected. The key strengths and challenges of training CIA with MYTILUS are discussed to point out focus points for how to make its approaches increasingly fit for participatory and decision-making processes in MSP to utilise its promising abilities for supporting ecosystem-based management.

show abstract

Bridging the Science-Policy Gap – Toward Better Integration of Decision Support Tools in Coastal and Marine Policy Implementation

Cited by 12 publications

References 28 publications

Action science in practice: Co‐production of a decision support tool visualizing effects of nutrient and hypoxia reduction goals on fisheries species

Action science in practice: Co‐production of a decision support tool visualizing effects of nutrient and hypoxia reduction goals on fisheries species

Addressing the cumulative impacts of multiple human pressures in marine systems, for the sustainable use of the seas

Utilising MYTILUS for Active Learning to Compare Cumulative Impacts on the Marine Environment in Different Planning Scenarios

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About