Stabilizing risk using public participatory GIS: A case study on mitigating marine debris in the Bay of Fundy, Southwest New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

While large-scale studies have quantified the extent of marine debris problems, the social factors that create and inhibit mitigation are understudied. In Canada's Southwest New Brunswick Bay of Fundy, marine debris originates from the interaction of multiple industries within a small area, including aquaculture and inshore fisheries. Conflict between these two stakeholders contributes to both debris production and failure to mitigate. Their gear entanglements create debris that threatens transportation safety, wildlife and the local economy. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) mapping was used to assemble and stabilize a common view of what constituted debris, debris locations and threats. This paper reports on a subsequent project that monitored the effects of working with the PPGIS map over three years, using participant observation, stakeholder roundtables, and interviews with stakeholders. The paper first reports on the differences in risk perceptions that were barriers to collaboration, followed by the tactics used by stakeholders to influence priorities and actions and finally on how PPGIS stabilized stakeholder definitions of debris and of responsibilities. The conclusions argue that PPGIS incorporates diverse data sets generated by different stakeholders, thereby motivating interactions, reducing conflict, and encouraging negotiated understandings of risks posed by marine debris.