Abstract
This paper discusses the conceptual and methodological challenges to co-developing high-quality and transferable knowledge to understand and manage harmful algal bloom (HAB) risks as part of adaptation to changing aquatic ecosystems in Europe. Global HAB-climate change research efforts to date have focused on enhancing the credibility of scientific knowledge by conducting basic scientific research aimed at understanding the physical and biogeochemical drivers and mechanisms shaping HAB dynamics in order to predict their occurrence and prevent their societal and ecological impacts. However, the rapid and interconnected changes occurring in marine ecosystems worldwide necessitate a simultaneous shift toward enhancing the salience, legitimacy, usefulness, and usability of this knowledge for decision-making. To address this need, we present and discuss empirical findings from the marine-focused CoCliME project, which set out to co-develop user-oriented climate services to support HAB risk mitigation and adaptation in European coastal regions. We present lessons learned in relation to four areas of project implementation, across five regional cases, that emerged as essential for enhancing the quality of knowledge for managing HAB-climate risks: (1) Engaging stakeholders to understand their knowledge, experiences, interests and concerns; (2) Co-developing a shared terminology and framing of the “HAB-related problems”; (3) Advancing scientific understanding of drivers and interactions shaping HAB-climate risks and; (4) Co-producing prototype services that integrate social and HAB-climate data and knowledge to support decision-making. We find that efforts to reduce scientific knowledge gaps and uncertainties about HAB-climate linkages (efforts to enhance credibility), while important, risk overlooking key aspects of knowledge co-production and application that are necessary to render this knowledge more salient, legitimate, useful, and usable. Understanding the multi-risk decision-making context within which societal stakeholders appraise HAB and climate change risks and approaching knowledge co-production as a learning process, are vital lessons learned in this respect. Drawing on project learning, we highlight key priorities for enhancing the societal relevance and impact of HABs-climate research during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Highlights
Climate change and anthropogenic pressures are modifying the world’s ocean in an unprecedented manner (Pörtner et al, 2019)
Echoing the findings reported above, we call for targeted harmful algal blooms (HABs) ecological research and investments in basic science that take their starting point in an understanding of stakeholders’ multi-risk decision-making contexts and that address the specific knowledge gaps that are necessary to inform effective mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with current and emergent HAB risks
We find that access to long-term environmental and biological datasets, continuous sustained ocean observations and laboratory tests are a basic foundation for generating credible scientific information and for understanding the potential interactions between the effects of climate change on HAB risks and hazards in the future
Summary
Climate change and anthropogenic pressures are modifying the world’s ocean in an unprecedented manner (Pörtner et al, 2019). There remains a paucity of high-quality and actionable knowledge to support HAB risk assessment and management in the face of climate change (GlobalHAB, 2017; Ritzman et al, 2018) To address this gap, we present and discuss conceptual and methodological challenges and lessons learned within the European research project “Co-developing Climate Services for Adaptation to Changing Marine Ecosystems” (CoCliME). We present and discuss conceptual and methodological challenges and lessons learned within the European research project “Co-developing Climate Services for Adaptation to Changing Marine Ecosystems” (CoCliME) This transdisciplinary project constituted a collaboration between natural and social science researchers and societal stakeholders from seven European countries across six European coastal regions and set out to enhance the co-production, integration and uptake of high-quality knowledge to support HAB impacts assessment, risk mitigation and adaptation strategies in European coastal waters in the face of climate change. This section concludes with recommendations for enhancing the quality of knowledge and knowledge co-production processes to help society better understand, prepare for and manage HAB-climate impacts and risks in coastal and marine socio-ecological systems undergoing rapid changes where decision-making contexts are characterized by high uncertainties
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