Holistic environmental monitoring in ports as an opportunity to advance sustainable development, marine science, and social inclusiveness

Abstract

Ports play a central role in our society, but they entail potential environmental risks and stressors that may cause detrimental impacts to both neighboring natural ecosystems and human health. Port managers face multiple challenges to mitigate risks and avoid ecosystem impacts and should recognize that ports are embedded in the wider regional coastal ecosystem. Cumulative impacts of anthropogenic stressors have the potential to further burden the existing suite of natural stressors, particularly where ports are located in embayments and estuaries. Environmental monitoring in ports should thus develop a comprehensive, holistic, multilayered approach integrated in the wider ecosystem that will help managers better achieve sustainable development, a major goal of the United Nations’ 2030 agenda and Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). This practice bridge showcases the experience of the second Canadian Healthy Ocean Network (CHONe2) in Baie des Sept Îles (BSI, Quebec; the fourth largest industrial port in Canada) laying the foundations of holistic environmental monitoring in ports. We describe the partnership model (i.e., engaging scientists, local authorities, an independent organization, and local industries), synthesize the multidisciplinary studies that turned environmental monitoring into a systemic investigation of the biological and physical components of BSI, integrate the developed scientific knowledge into a social–ecological–environmental system, present an innovative near real-time monitoring approach, and discuss implications for management and policy. The CHONe2 experience in BSI aligns with the decade’s road map for sustainable development and provides elements that could be adapted to other commercial ports. By suggesting a set of best practices (e.g., multidisciplinarity, transparency, inclusivity, participatory modeling), we hope to spark new interest in environmental monitoring as a path to conciliate development and sustainability of ports and other high-use marine areas.

Environmental niches and seasonal succession of phytoplankton assemblages in a subarctic coastal bay: Applications to remote sensing estimates

“…Global warming has an important role in restructuring major phytoplankton assemblages (Benedetti et al, 2021) and developing new tools to systematically monitor these microorganisms that are key to coastal ecosystems are urgent. Moreover, bringing the scientific knowledge developed in this study into a broader context, such as its mapping onto a Social-Ecological-Environmental System, as presented by Ferrario et al (2022), would bring benefits to society.…”

“…The dataset used in this study consist of in situ profiles and discrete surface water samples collected on an array of stations, within the scope of the interdisciplinary project Canadian Healthy Oceans Network (CHONe2; see Ferrario et al, 2022, for further details about the project). More details about the sampling strategy and methods are found in Araújo and Beĺanger (2022).…”

The critical social processes for standardising the ecological monitoring of Australian landscapes

“…The emerging practice of holistic ecological monitoring is tied to a growing awareness of the importance of better knowledge of environmental conditions, as well as social and economic prosperity, to advance sustainable development (Jaegar et al, 2008; Ferrario et al, 2022). Holistic environmental monitoring aims to develop a comprehensive representation of a landscape integrated in its wider ecological context (Ferrario et al, 2022). The concept of adaptive co-management acknowledges the importance of social networks and norms between stakeholders for improved collaboration to manage systems to respond to disturbances and adapt to change (Armitage, 2005;Cundill and Fabricius, 2009;Bardsley et al, 2021).…”

“…Issues in ecological monitoring within socio-ecological systems can be harder to manage than those within natural systems, as the former rely upon strategic behaviours of stakeholders and there are often limitations to controlled experimentation in anthropogenic systems (Sabatier, 1995). Therefore, scientists are increasingly being called to embrace multidisciplinary approaches, including social science research, to better understand and resolve sociocultural challenges to effective environmental management and monitoring (Ferrario et al, 2022).…”

“…Another method of overcoming socio-cultural challenges to effective monitoring is through the development of mutual understanding to enable collaboration among stakeholders (Allen et al, 2011;Biber, 2013;Johannsson et al, 2022). Many successful long-term monitoring studies are built on partnerships between people with differing but complementary skills, including those concerned with the human dimensions of ecological monitoring, such as policymakers (Danielsen et al, 2009;Lindenmayer et al, 2012;Ferrario et al, 2022). Such a transdisciplinary approach increases the relevance and impact of longterm ecological monitoring (Lynch et al, 2015).…”