Assessing health of the Bay of Fundy––concepts and framework

Abstract

A discussion of health and ecosystem health (EH) concepts and a conceptual framework for assessing health of the Bay of Fundy are presented. The framework includes: (1) Concepts––What is health? What is EH and marine ecosystem health (MEH)? How does EH relate to other closely related concepts and principles i.e. environmental quality (especially marine or MEQ), ecosystem integrity, and ecosystem sustainability? (2) Importance––Why is EH important, and what are the linkages to people i.e. human health? (3) Approaches and techniques––How do we monitor and measure EH, and in that context, ecosystem or ecological change? i.e. What are the monitoring approaches and tools? What is an appropriate set of EH indicators and indices for the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine? At the present time, can we make unequivocal statements about the status and trends in EH measures of the Bay of Fundy? Do we have adequate guidelines, objectives and standards for assessing environmental quality and EH? (4) Connecting with management needs––Do we have adequate mechanisms in place to address MEH, marine environmental quality (MEQ), and environmental sustainability in the Bay of Fundy? What is the role of periodic marine assessments (state of the marine environment reports) in this activity? What kinds of new directions and new ecosystem science should be given priority? What kinds of other new activities should be pursued? For the Bay of Fundy Coastal Forum at the recent 5th BOFEP Bay of Fundy Science Workshop (May 2002), five core questions flowing from the health framework served to initiate and focus the discussions: (1) Current state––What is the present health or condition of the Bay of Fundy? (2) Changes––Are conditions improving or deteriorating? (3) Indicators––What kinds of indicators do we consider most useful in trying to answer these questions? (4) Existing resources––Are there adequate resources (e.g. institutional, financial, scientific, regulatory) to protect or restore the health of the Bay? (5) Needs––What kinds of new information and approaches do we need to protect the health of the Bay? The background information and ideas of this paper were intended to assist discussion at the Fundy workshop, and to help identify the next steps, both individual and collective, for assessing the health of the Bay of Fundy.