Learning from Ecosystem-Based Management in Practice |
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Authors: | Heather Leslie Leila Sievanen Tara Gancos Crawford Rebecca Gruby H Cristina Villanueva-Aznar Lisa M Campbell |
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Institution: | 1. Institute at Brown for Environment &2. Society and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA;3. Darling Marine Center &4. School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Walpole, Maine, USA;5. California Ocean Science Trust, Oakland, California, USA;6. Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA;7. Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA;8. Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA;9. Environmental Defense Fund de México A.C., La Paz, México |
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Abstract: | We explore how marine ecosystem–based management (EBM) is translated from theory to practice at six sites with varying ecological and institutional contexts. Based on these case studies, we report on the goals, strategies, and outcomes of each project and what we can learn from these efforts to guide future implementation and assessment. In particular, we focus on how projects dealt with the challenges of working across geographic scales and diverse governance arrangements. While we hypothesized that EBM in the United States would be distinct from EBM in developing countries due to differences in social and political factors, we found that sites faced similar challenges. Variation among sites appeared to be more closely related to the preexisting management context and the scale at which the projects began rather than to clear differences between the United States and developing country contexts. EBM project implementers were able to overcome many of these challenges by focusing on a limited number of specific objectives, starting at a small scale, pursuing adaptive management, and monitoring a diverse set of indicators. These findings are directly relevant to current and future EBM efforts in these and other places. |
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Keywords: | fisheries integrated coastal management marine ecosystem–based management |
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