Coastal Socio-ecological Systems Research Articles

Habitability of low-lying socio-ecological systems under a changing climate

Climate change will push the planet worryingly close to its boundaries, across all latitudes and levels of development. One question therefore is the extent to which climate change does (and will) severely affect societies’ livelihoods, health, well-being, and cultures. This paper discusses the “severe climate risks” concept developed under Working Group II’s contribution to the Fifth and Sixth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, AR5, and AR6). Focusing on low-lying coastal socio-ecological systems (LCS) and acknowledging that attempts to define “severe” climate risk have been problematic at the level of global syntheses, we argue for a more place- and people-based framing relating to “habitability under a changing climate.” We summarize habitability in terms of five habitability pillars: land, freshwater, food, settlement and infrastructure, and economic and subsistence activities; we acknowledge social and cultural factors (including perceptions, values, governance arrangements, human agency, power structures) as critical underlying factors rather than as separate pillars. We further develop the habitability framing and examine climate risk to future human health and habitability for three climate “hotspot” archetypes (arctic coasts, atoll islands, densely populated urban areas). Building on the IPCC AR6 framing of severe climate risks, we discuss three key parameters describing severe climate risks in LCS: the point of irreversibility of changes, physical and socio-ecological thresholds, and cascading effects across various habitability dimensions. We also highlight the variability of severe risk conditions both between coastal archetypes and within each of them. Further work should consist of refining the case study framing to find the right balance between capturing context-specificities through real-world local case studies and commonalities derived from more generic archetypes. In addition, there is a need to identify appropriate methods to assess irreversibility, thresholds, and cascading effects, and thus severe climate risks to habitability.

Determining synergies and trade-offs between adaptation, mitigation and development in coastal socio-ecological systems in Bangladesh

Mapping synergies and trade-offs is crucial for managing climate change impacts on coastal socio-ecological systems (SESs) through integrated response. This study employed the DPSIR (drivers, pressures, states, impacts, and responses) framework, focus group discussions, and participatory workshops to determine synergies, and trade-offs and develop measures to maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs between adaptation, mitigation and development in five coastal SESs in Bangladesh. The findings indicated that climate-smart farming was a major intervention that facilitated synergies between agricultural production and climate adaptation and mitigation. The major trade-off identified was that between agricultural production and the overexploitation of marine and coastal resources. The findings also revealed that overall, synergies were more prevalent than trade-offs in the coastal SESs. Three broad measures (namely, government's financial, institutional and regulatory support) were devised for maximizing synergies and minimizing trade-offs depending mainly on the pace and magnitude of adopting climate-resilient and/or -smart approaches needed to attain multiple societal objectives simultaneously. Critical policy implications include developing innovative financial mechanisms, strengthening natural resources stewardship, investing in sustainable intensification of polder agriculture, and improving coastal institutional scaffolds for building climate-resilient coastal zones.

Natural Protected Areas effect on the cover change rate of mangrove forests in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services that support the maintenance of coastal socio-ecological systems. Strategies such as the establishment of Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) have been encouraged worldwide to promote their conservation. However, mangroves are still being lost as a consequence of anthropogenic disturbance and environmental variation. In here, we determine the change rate in mangrove cover, between 2005–2015, in eight coastal NPAs and the corresponding four km adjacent transition area in the Yucatan Peninsula (YP), and assess the relationship with location (inside or outside the protected area), their time since establishment and distance to roads. In general, we observed higher positive rates of change in mangrove cover inside the protected areas than in the adjacent transition zones (p < 0.05). Change was related to both the distance to roads and the time since establishment of the NPAs (p < 0.05). Higher (positive and negative) mangrove rates of change were observed in areas closer to roads, and more stable areas were detected as the distance to the roads increased. The positive rate of change also increased with the age of the protected area. These patterns were more evident inside the NPAs. The continuous monitoring of mangrove change dynamics in protected areas in this important region and their drivers, is necessary to establish effective management strategies considering the spatial and temporal variability of environmental and anthropogenic disturbances.

A need to better monitor the effects of coastal defence measures on coastal socio-ecological systems to improve future adaptation solutions

Decision-making in a coastal socio-ecological system involves managing a site-specific complexity arising not only from the interaction between hydrodynamic and morphological conditions, but also from the interactions between human structures and ecological systems, as well as the conflicting needs and interests of local actors. In addition, the projections of climate change impacts on coastal systems have a degree of uncertainty, which increases the general unpredictability of coastal dynamic behaviour, and adds a layer of complexity to the decision-making process. Scientific knowledge can help reduce some of the inherent uncertainties, and is essential when it comes to making sound decisions on the choice of appropriate coastal defence measures (CDMs) that are adapted to specific coastal environments and improve the resilience of coastal communities. This paper is based on a meta-analysis of 355 CDMs case studies drawn from 301 publications. From these published case studies, the objectives were to analyze the geographical and physical contexts in which CDMs monitoring was carried out and, based on the findings, to recommend areas of improvement necessary to help make sound decisions in any type of coastal environment. The meta-analysis showed that study sites are not evenly distributed around the world. Most originate from Europe (n = 106), the USA (n = 151) and Australia (n = 30), while few studies have been carried out in Africa and Asia where dense population resides in high-risk zones. Also noticeable is the absence of sites in high latitude climates where ice plays a major role in the erosion process. Five basic variables (coastal type, sediment type, wave characteristics, tidal range, and currents or sediment transport characteristics) are used in publications to characterize study sites according to their physical components. However, only 13 of the 355 sites included a complete characterization using the 5 variables, of which coastal and sediment types are the most frequently identified (77.2% and 72.7% respectively). In general, CDMs are studied in the context of unconsolidated low shore (59.4%) and in sandy environments (74.6%). Information on tidal range, wave climate, and currents, or sediment transport characteristics, is much scarcer. Since 1990, 3 of the 10 CDMs identified in the studies have received more attention than the others; these are beach nourishments, seawalls and breakwaters, with respective cumulative study sites of 164, 67 and 50. The geomorphological effects of CDMs are the most studied (55.1%), followed by ecological (31.2%), hydrodynamic (9.1%), and social (4.6%). Overall, this meta-analysis helped identify knowledge gaps regarding geographical and physical contexts in which CDMs monitoring was held. It also gave an indication of the kind of improvement necessary for global-scale adaptation planning, and for a better decision-making process to reduce coastal risks in the most vulnerable coastal communities. Finally, the analysis shows that 4.4% of the studies on defence measures include monitoring of their effects on the coastal zone. A conceptual scheme is proposed for the evaluation of adaptation solutions based on the global monitoring of coastal zones to measure coastal change trajectories in the context of climate change.

Shoreline Change and Coastal Erosion in West Africa: A Systematic Review of Research Progress and Policy Recommendation

Shoreline change and coastal erosion resulting from natural events such as sea level rise and negative anthropogenic activities continue to be problems in many of the world’s coastal regions. Many coastal socio-ecological systems have become vulnerable as a result, especially in developing countries with less adaptive capacity. We utilized the systematic method to understand the research progress and policy recommendations on shoreline change and coastal erosion in West Africa. A total of 113 documents were retrieved from Scopus and the Web of Sciences databases, and 43 documents were eligible following established criteria. It was revealed that research on shoreline change and coastal erosion has progressed substantially since 1998, with most research studies originating from the Ghanaian territory. Again, most of the shoreline change and erosion problems in West Africa result from natural events such as sea level rise. However, there was evidence of anthropogenic influences such as sand mining, dam construction, and human encroachment causing shoreline change and erosion in the region. Research in the region has also progressed in terms of methodological approaches. Since 2004, researchers have utilized remote sensing and GIS techniques to source and analyze shoreline change and erosion. However, a combination of remote sensing and field observation approaches is required to clearly depict the erosion problems and aid policy direction. The overall call to action regarding policy recommendations revolves around improving coastal adaptation measures and the resilience of communities, instituting proper coastal zone management plans, and improving shoreline change and coastal erosion research. To protect lives and property, policymakers in the region need to set up good coastal zone management plans, strengthen adaptation measures, and make coastal communities more resistant to possible risks.

Atmospheric–ocean coupling drives prevailing and synchronic dispersal patterns of marine species with long pelagic durations

Dispersal shapes population connectivity and plays a critical role in marine metacommunities. Prominent species for coastal socioecological systems, such as jellyfish and spiny lobsters, feature long pelagic dispersal phases (LPDPs), which have long been overlooked. Here, we use a cross-scale approach combining field surveys of these species with a high-resolution hydrodynamic model to decipher the underlying mechanisms of LPDP patterns in northwestern Mediterranean shores. We identified basin-scale prevailing dispersal routes and synchronic year-to-year patterns tightly linked to prominent circulation features typical of marginal seas and semienclosed basins, with an outstanding role of a retentive source area replenishing shores and potentially acting as a pelagic nursery area. We show how the atmospheric forcing of the ocean, a marked hydrological driver of the Mediterranean Sea, modulates dispersal routes and sources of LPDP at interannual scales. These findings represent a crucial advance in our understanding of the functioning of metapopulations of species with LPDP in marginal seas and may contribute to the effective management of coastal ecosystem services in the face of climate change.

Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria

Coastal socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems with nonlinear changing properties and multi-scale dynamics. They are influenced by unpredictable coastal hazards accentuated by the effects of climate change, and they can quickly be altered if critical thresholds are crossed. Additional pressures come from coastal activities and development, both of which attracting stakeholders with different perspectives and interests. While coastal defence measures (CDMs) have been implemented to mitigate coastal hazards for centuries, a lack of knowledge and tools available to make informed decision has led to coastal managers favouring the choice of seawalls or rock armours with little consideration for socio-ecological systems features, and stakeholders’ priorities. Though it is not currently widely applied in coastal zone management, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a tool that can be useful to facilitate decision making. PROMETHEE, an outranking method, was chosen to support the multicriteria decision analysis for the evaluation of CDMs in the context of four study sites characterized by distinct environmental features. The aim was to determine the relevance and benefits of a MCDA by integrating coastal zone stakeholders in a participatory decision-making process in order to select CDMs that are better adapted to the whole socio-ecological system. First, in a series of five workshops, stakeholders were asked to identify and weigh criteria that were relevant to their local conditions. Second and third, CDMs were evaluated in relation to each criterion within the local context, then, hierarchized. Initial results show that vegetation came first in three of the four sites, while rock armour ranked first in the fourth site. A post-evaluation of the participatory process indicated that the weighting phase is an effective way to integrate local knowledge into the decision-making process, but the identification of criteria could be streamlined by the presentation of a predefined list from which participants could make a selection. This would ensure criteria that are standardized, and in a format that is compatible with the MCDA. Coupled with a participatory process MCDA proved to be a flexible methodology that can synthetize multiple aspects of the problem, and contribute in a meaningful way to the coastal engineering and management decision-making process.

Socio-ecological systems modelling of coastal urban area under a changing climate – Case study for Ubatuba, Brazil

Understanding the complex dynamics between society and nature is a critical contribution of ecological modelling. Integrated views of human-nature relations as well as tools and frameworks for studying these relations are gaining ground. A socio-ecological systems (SES) perspective therefore embraces both social and environmental factors that uses nonlinearities, feedbacks, models, and multi-level networks for understanding and studying those phenomena. When undesired drivers as climate change are also taken into account, the most urgent question is how these critical socio–ecological systems will behave given the stresses they endure. This work had the objective of creating a new simulation of a coastal SES from Brazil that is able to integrate several climatic and social variables through a dynamic and coupled model, and forecast its behavior in the future according to scenarios. Specifically, a systems dynamics simulation model using MIMES (Multiscale Integrated Model of Ecosystem Services) was developed for Ubatuba, a coastal city highly dependent and influenced by tourism. Results showed good correspondence between the model and the data when testing several environmental inputs (wind speed and direction, cloud cover, sea surface temperature, precipitation patterns). The model simulated the population dynamics of 15 biological groups from 2010 to 2100 under different scenarios. Climate change will reduce most of populations in a range from −0.13% (± 0.0%) to −10.31% (± 0.0%). There are groups where the influence of climate change is not significant (Bivalve, Brachyuran, pelagic feeding fish and benthic feeding fish) with variations from 0 to 2% and others with moderate significance (Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, and Enterococcus) with variations >2%. Tourists reacting to water quality degradation is very relevant in Enterococcus population (with a reduction of 34%). Results show the urban activities strongly influencing the biological populations and that these impacts depend on the scenario context. This suggests a policy that limits the number of tourists and increases the water quality at the same time. Therefore, the model's spatial simulation of this complex socio-ecological system can be used to develop an integrative decision-making tool to help the city manage its natural capital and adapt to its changes.

Resource users as land-sea links in coastal and marine socioecological systems.

Coastal zones, which connect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, are among the most resource-rich regions globally and home to nearly 40% of the global human population. Because human land-based activities can alter natural processes in ways that affect adjacent aquatic ecosystems, land-sea interactions are increasingly recognized as critical to coastal conservation planning and governance. However, the complex socioeconomic dynamics inherent in coastal and marine socioecological systems (SESs) have received little consideration. Drawing on knowledge generalized from long-term studies in Caribbean Nicaragua, we devised a conceptual framework that clarifies the multiple ways socioeconomically driven behavior can link the land and sea. In addition to other ecosystem effects, the framework illustrates how feedbacks resulting from changes to aquatic resources can influence terrestrial resource management decisions and land uses. We assessed the framework by applying it to empirical studies from a variety of coastal SESs. The results suggest its broad applicability and highlighted the paucity of research that explicitly investigates the effects of human behavior on coastal SES dynamics. We encourage researchers and policy makers to consider direct, indirect, and bidirectional cross-ecosystem links that move beyond traditionally recognized land-to-sea processes.

“Towards West African coastal social-ecosystems sustainability: Interdisciplinary approaches”

The coastal system can be regarded as co-evolving socio-economic and ecological systems undergoing intense environmental pressures owing to the mechanisms of change exerted by human activities against a background of natural change. Understanding and managing ecological responses to these changes in the coastal areas require interdisciplinary approaches. Here, we develop a new approach of coastal socio-ecological systems (CSES) based on earlier work on the press-pulse dynamics (PPD) socio-ecological systems. To show the relevance of the modified (mPPD) framework, we applied it to two unique features (mangroves and beach systems) of the western African coastal (WAC) systems. Then, we constructed plausible 21st-century coastal systems scenarios at the coast based on a set of descriptive indicators (population growth, economic development, environmental quality, governance, technological advancement and climate change) for a better understanding and sustainable management planning of WAC systems.We found that different indicators characterizing each scenario will exert different pressures on the WAC systems, under the forms of the long-term press and short-term pulse events. The cross-cutting narratives of the different future scenarios in the face of climate change using the mPPD framework offer valuable insight into the development of WAC management strategies, policies and other agendas. It helps to define the plausible implications of following, or not, a particular management path. The inconsistencies between the aspirations of different resource users and lack of coordination of human activities taking place on land and in the coastal zone, partly due to fragmentation of institutions and weak coastal governance are revealed. In this context, the mPPD-CSES framework can be used to investigate how ecosystems can experience different (intensities of) press as well as different frequencies of the pulse. Thus, its adaptability to construct future coastal vulnerability scenarios adds to its usefulness as a robust and dependable integrated coastal zone management tool.

Contrasting Effects of Regional and Local Climate on the Interannual Variability and Phenology of the Scyphozoan, Aurelia coerulea and Nemopilema nomurai in the Korean Peninsula

The East Asian marginal seas are among the most productive fisheries grounds. However, in recent decades they experienced massive proliferations of jellyfish that pose vast challenges for the management of harvested fish stocks. In the Korean Peninsula, the common bloom-formers Scyphozoan species Aurelia coerulea and Nemopilema nomurai are of major concern due to their detrimental effects on coastal socio-ecological systems. Here, we used pluriannual field observations spanning over 14 years to test the extent of climate influence on the interannual variability and bloom dynamics of A. coerulea and N. nomurai. To depict climate-jellyfish interactions we assessed partitioning effects, direct/indirect links, and the relative importance of hydroclimate forces on the variability of these species. We show that jellyfish interannual patterns and bloom dynamics are shaped by forces playing out at disparate scales. While abundance changes and earlier blooms of A. coerulea were driven by local environmental conditions, N. nomurai interannual patterns and bloom dynamics were linked with regional climate processes. Our results provide a synoptic picture of cascading effects from large scale climate to jellyfish dynamics in the Korean Peninsula that may affect fisheries sustainability due to the prominent detrimental impact these species have in the region.

Agricultural Biodiversity Maintenance in a Coastal Socio-Ecological System: the Pearl Lagoon Basin, Nicaragua

Globalization processes, such as market pressures, tend to encourage farmers to reduce agricultural (or agro-) biodiversity. Yet, what is known about the drivers of agrobiodiversity erosion largely comes from research from communities in which farming is the principle natural resource-based livelihood. Focusing on Caribbean Nicaragua’s Pearl Lagoon Basin following the construction of the first regional road, we used a mixed methods approach to understand how the complex livelihood dynamics inherent in coastal socio-ecological systems—where households rely upon both terrestrial and aquatic resources—affect farmers’ decisions to maintain agrobiodiversity. Our analyses reveal atypical spatial patterns of agrobiodiversity maintenance relative to road access: the farming systems of households most proximal to the road are significantly more agrobiodiverse than those maintained by household in distant communities. This pattern is in part explained by local livelihood dynamics. Market access associated with road development encouraged the depletion of the lagoon fishery. To buffer their food security, households’ near to the road are focusing efforts on their historically biodiverse subsistence agricultural systems. These findings suggest that conservation efforts targeting coastal socio-ecological systems must account for the ways in which the complexity of natural resource-based livelihoods in these systems affect households’ responses to a changing world.

Livelihood trajectories in the Chilean Patagonian region: an ethnographic approach to coastal and marine socioecological change

Livelihood trajectories are a conceptual device to synthetize the collection of successive strategies displayed by individuals and groups to ensure survival and wellbeing over time. Using this concept, we conduct an explorative analysis of how various episodes, interventions, and ecological change have influenced different livelihood strategies of small-scale fishermen in the southernmost region of the world, the Patagonian region of Magallanes, Chile. Through ethnographic research, we identified four trajectories along five distinct periods: (i) 1960–1972, from the year of the largest recorded earthquake in world history to the initial expansion of industrial fishing; (ii) 1973–1982, from the military coup and the beginning of neoliberal reforms; (iii) 1983–1990, marked by fishing export booms; (iv) 1991–2000, noted by return to democracy and enactment of the first Fishing and Aquaculture General Act; and (v) 2000 to present, characterized by coastal planning and changes to the aforementioned law. Along these periods, trajectories are marked by migration waves and the deployment of specific livelihood strategies, highly modulated by both global seafood markets and legal changes. The results show the potential of ethnographic approaches to the study of long-term interactions in marine and coastal socioecological systems by identifying underlying historical dynamics, specific pulses and pressures, and actors’ responses to regional socioecological changes.

Dealing with impact. An interdisciplinary, multi-site ethnography of environmental impact assessment in the coastal zone

The SPA (“Savoir, Pouvoir, Avoir”) project (CNRS, 2017-2019) presented in this article focuses on the ways French society deals with the issue of environmental impact – from the vast question of impact in the context of global change and the issue of the measurement of impact in science, to the specific case of the public policy instrument known as “environmental impact assessment”. Impact is considered as a boundary object at the intersection of several fields of inquiry which captures both the architecture and the dynamics of relationships between “savoir” (scientific and lay knowledge), “pouvoir” (power and decision) and “avoir” (economy/appropriation), that aggregate different interests around the sustainable management of coastal socio-ecological systems. Three sites were selected along a north-south gradient of Long-Term Ecological Research sites: the Bay of Brest and the Iroise Sea, the National Nature Reserve of the French islands in the Southern Ocean and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The approach of the SPA project is to link concretely social sciences, natural sciences and engineering sciences on these study sites, in an interdisciplinary, multi-site and multi-scale methodology that makes it possible to reveal the conditions for the possible – or impossible – implementation of sustainable management of coastal socio-ecological systems.

Uma síntese das condições para a efetividade da cogestão da pesca artesanal

Apesar da emergência de iniciativas de cogestão da pesca artesanal, ou ao menos da sua recomendação enquanto uma alternativa aos modelos convencionais de gestão, a sua efetividade é bastante dependente do contexto social, político, econômico e ecológico. Identificar quais condições poderiam facilitar esse processo se configura como uma das vertentes de pesquisa do enfoque da cogestão adaptativa, com implicações tanto para a análise dos processos quanto para subsidiar experiências práticas em curso. Considerando que diferentes arranjos de cogestão da pesca artesanal têm sido criados no Brasil, neste artigo de revisão é apresentada uma sistematização das principais condições para a sua efetividade, a partir da literatura especializada. Conclui-se que um “cenário ideal” para a cogestão da pesca artesanal reforça processos de pequena escala e de menor complexidade socioecológica, em detrimento da alta complexidade de boa parte dos sistemas socioecológicos costeiros em que a pesca artesanal está inserida

Efficiency in the design of coastal erosion adaptation strategies: An environmental-economic modelling approach

Coastal zones host between 15% and 40% of the world population, important residential, tourism and port infrastructures, and a wide variety of terrestrial, aquatic and coastal ecosystems. These built and natural capitals, corresponding services and associated values may be lost due to coastal erosion. Coastal erosion adaptation strategies are frequently based on the adoption of adaptation measures at the local scale (i.e. ‘best practices’) – we argue that the factual costs, impacts and benefits of coastal erosion adaptation strategies are determined by the suit of adaptation measures at the landscape scale. Sustainable economic development of coastal regions requires balancing of the marginal costs and associated marginal benefits from coastal erosion adaptation strategies. In this paper, we develop and apply the Coastal Erosion Adaptation Strategies (CEAS) approach, a spatially explicit environmental-economic modelling approach that allows for the identification of efficient (welfare maximizing) coastal erosion adaptation strategies in coastal socio-ecological systems. Results for the case of groin systems along the Central Portuguese coast show that while the protection of urban as well as natural areas may be optimal from an environmental-economic perspective, budget constraints provoke the loss of natural areas in favour of the protection of urban areas.

Are guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 34:75-88 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00830 Theme Section: Biology and ecology of sawfishes REVIEW Are guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action Alec B. M. Moore* RSK Environment Ltd., Helsby, Cheshire WA6 0AR, UK *Corresponding author: amoore@rsk.co.uk ABSTRACT: Focusing on the most critical conservation priorities to prevent extinctions risks missing declines of lower priority taxa that may become tomorrow’s emergency. Sawfishes (5 species) underwent catastrophic but largely unnoticed global declines in the latter part of the 20th century, and are now the subject of intensive research and conservation efforts. Guitarfishes (at least 55 species) share many characteristics with sawfishes: they are shark-like batoids with an often large body, prefer sedimentary habitats in warm shallow coastal waters exposed to intensive fisheries, and have high value fins and good quality meat. Guitarfishes represent a unique element of evolution and biodiversity and are vital components of complex coastal socio-ecological systems. Existing global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assessments for nearly 60% of guitarfish species are 10 or more years old, and over 70% of species are either in threatened categories or Data Deficient. Recently described taxa not yet assessed include those likely to be at risk of extinction. Severe declines and localised extinctions have already been reported for guitarfishes. In notable contrast to sawfishes, total extinction of several guitarfish species is plausible given small distributions occurring solely in developing or least developed countries where conservation is highly challenging. Furthermore, species identification of guitarfishes is often problematic and they may lack the appeal often needed to promote conservation. To ensure that they do not follow the same trajectory as sawfishes, there is an urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated action on guitarfishes, which in many cases could integrate with sawfish conservation efforts. KEY WORDS: Elasmobranch · Extinction · Fisheries · Conservation · Glaucostegidae · Rhinidae · Rhinobatidae · Trygonorrhinidae Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Moore ABM (2017) Are guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action. Endang Species Res 34:75-88. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00830 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 34. Online publication date: July 21, 2017 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.

Gains from trans-boundary water quality management in linked catchment and coastal socio-ecological systems: A case study for the Minho region

Abstract In trans-boundary catchments, national welfare maximizing rates of water quality improvement differ across nations as benefits and/or costs from water quality improvement accrue to multiple nations. Hence we need to differentiate between intra- and trans-boundary catchments because benefactors and beneficiaries from water quality improvement are not one and the same. In this paper we develop a deterministic optimal control approach to explore national and trans-national welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement in linked catchment and freshwater/coastal socio-ecological systems. For a case study of the Minho region (Iberian Peninsula), we estimate nation-specific water pollution abatement cost functions (based on management practice adoption) to determine and compare national and trans-national welfare maximizing rates of water pollution abatement and corresponding welfare implications. Results show that national welfare maximization leads to increased rates of water pollution (+5%), while trans-national welfare maximization leads to significant reductions in rates of water pollution (−14%) and largest welfare gains (+1.4%). Partial non-cooperation in trans-national water quality management leads to increased rates of water pollution (up to +12%) and welfare losses (up to −0.9%), though providing national welfare gains for defecting nations (up to +3.8%).

Resiliency of the Coastal Recreational For-Hire Fishing Industry to Natural Disasters

The financial condition of US Gulf of Mexico recreational-for-hire (RFH) fishing firms post-hurricane damage was examined within the context of the industry’s contribution to the resiliency of coastal socio-ecological systems (SES). Three key financial ratios—return-on-assets, assets turnover ratio, and debt-to-assets ratio—were calculated for 2009 from balance sheets and cash flow statements constructed from surveys of 247 RFH firms operating in the five Gulf states. The ratios were then recalculated using reported damage and operational losses from at least one named storm in the 2004–2008 period and combined with the results of a logistic regression model of profitability loss to assess the resiliency of the RFH industry. Results suggest that RFH firm resiliency was a function of operating class (head, charter, and guide boats), homeport, and the way in which the business was structured. Firms appeared to be the most resilient when they employed smaller vessels in intensively managed operations, perhaps due to their ability to move a vessel out of the path of storms and because their profitability and efficiency advantages allowed for self-insurance against losses. As a result, community contributions to, and benefits from, resiliency in the RFH industry may hinge on the development of more modern port facilities and well-functioning insurance markets.

The potential role of Sustainability Science in coastal zone management

Sustainability Science invokes a co-produced approach to research between researchers and managers, involving a shared participatory, policy-centred process. The COREPOINT project which was developed with the principles of Sustainability Science in mind, provides evidence of the effectiveness and challenges involved in the knowledge transfer process between research centres and local government officials involved in coastal research and management. The Expert Couplet Nodes (ECN) embedded within the project aimed to ensure that a paradigm shift in attitude and behaviour towards traditional science and management practices took place. A comparison of the ECN process in two study sites in Ireland provided an opportunity to review the process and outcomes of the collaborative enquiry arrangements by referring to a suite of Sustainability Science principles developed during the project. In doing so, this paper demonstrates how the ECN approach built capacity for improved coastal management and how Sustainability Science has a key role to play in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). However, weaknesses in the ECN approach also showed that greater innovation from the ICZM community of researchers, policy makers and practitioners is of critical importance to the roll out of Sustainability Science as a societal solution in the transition towards sustainability. This requires capacity building to deal with the complexity of coastal socio-ecological systems.