Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives
In 2017, South Africa became the first African country to draft Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) legislation. The underlying legal framework supports the achievement of ecological, social and economic objectives, but a national policy to fast track the oceans economy provides a challenge for ecosystem-...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00146/full |
| _version_ | 1818476427302928384 |
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| author | Amanda T. Lombard Rosemary A. Dorrington Jodie Romay Reed Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Gwenith Susan Penry Lorien Pichegru Kaylee Pam Smit Estee Ann Vermeulen Minke Witteveen Kerry J. Sink Kerry J. Sink Alistair M. McInnes Tayla Ginsburg |
| author_facet | Amanda T. Lombard Rosemary A. Dorrington Jodie Romay Reed Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Gwenith Susan Penry Lorien Pichegru Kaylee Pam Smit Estee Ann Vermeulen Minke Witteveen Kerry J. Sink Kerry J. Sink Alistair M. McInnes Tayla Ginsburg |
| author_sort | Amanda T. Lombard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2017, South Africa became the first African country to draft Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) legislation. The underlying legal framework supports the achievement of ecological, social and economic objectives, but a national policy to fast track the oceans economy provides a challenge for ecosystem-based approaches to MSP. During the 2018 International Marine Conservation Congress, we convened a session to present particular challenges that will likely apply to any developing country seeking to increase profits from existing, or proposed, marine activities. Here we present six multi-disciplinary research projects that support ecosystem-based approaches to MSP in South Africa, by addressing the following knowledge gaps and specific key challenges: (1) the lack of data-derived measurements of ecosystem condition (and the need to validate commonly-used proxy measures); (2) the need to develop models to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on food webs and fisheries; (3) the slow implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, and the need to implement existing legal instruments that can support such an approach; (4) the paucity of evidence supporting dynamic ocean management strategies; (5) the requirement to manage conflicting objectives in growing marine tourism industries; and (6) the need to adopt systems thinking approaches to support integrated ocean management. We provide examples of specific research projects designed to address these challenges. The ultimate goal of this research is to advance a more integrated approach to ocean management in South Africa, using tools that can be applied in countries with similar socio-political and environmental contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:25:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-320503306ccb44b39a0f81c4ab363d52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:25:29Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-320503306ccb44b39a0f81c4ab363d522022-12-22T01:54:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452019-03-01610.3389/fmars.2019.00146435683Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth ImperativesAmanda T. Lombard0Rosemary A. Dorrington1Jodie Romay Reed2Kelly Ortega-Cisneros3Kelly Ortega-Cisneros4Gwenith Susan Penry5Lorien Pichegru6Kaylee Pam Smit7Estee Ann Vermeulen8Minke Witteveen9Kerry J. Sink10Kerry J. Sink11Alistair M. McInnes12Tayla Ginsburg13Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South AfricaDepartment of Oceanography, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaInstitute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South AfricaDepartment of Zoology, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Oceanography, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Oceanography, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Oceanography, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaInstitute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaSouth African National Biodiversity Institute, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Zoology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaDepartment of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaIn 2017, South Africa became the first African country to draft Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) legislation. The underlying legal framework supports the achievement of ecological, social and economic objectives, but a national policy to fast track the oceans economy provides a challenge for ecosystem-based approaches to MSP. During the 2018 International Marine Conservation Congress, we convened a session to present particular challenges that will likely apply to any developing country seeking to increase profits from existing, or proposed, marine activities. Here we present six multi-disciplinary research projects that support ecosystem-based approaches to MSP in South Africa, by addressing the following knowledge gaps and specific key challenges: (1) the lack of data-derived measurements of ecosystem condition (and the need to validate commonly-used proxy measures); (2) the need to develop models to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on food webs and fisheries; (3) the slow implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, and the need to implement existing legal instruments that can support such an approach; (4) the paucity of evidence supporting dynamic ocean management strategies; (5) the requirement to manage conflicting objectives in growing marine tourism industries; and (6) the need to adopt systems thinking approaches to support integrated ocean management. We provide examples of specific research projects designed to address these challenges. The ultimate goal of this research is to advance a more integrated approach to ocean management in South Africa, using tools that can be applied in countries with similar socio-political and environmental contexts.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00146/fullecosystem conditionoceans economyclimate changedynamic ocean managementscenario planningsystem dynamics models |
| spellingShingle | Amanda T. Lombard Rosemary A. Dorrington Jodie Romay Reed Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Kelly Ortega-Cisneros Gwenith Susan Penry Lorien Pichegru Kaylee Pam Smit Estee Ann Vermeulen Minke Witteveen Kerry J. Sink Kerry J. Sink Alistair M. McInnes Tayla Ginsburg Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives Frontiers in Marine Science ecosystem condition oceans economy climate change dynamic ocean management scenario planning system dynamics models |
| title | Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives |
| title_full | Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives |
| title_fullStr | Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives |
| title_short | Key Challenges in Advancing an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning Under Economic Growth Imperatives |
| title_sort | key challenges in advancing an ecosystem based approach to marine spatial planning under economic growth imperatives |
| topic | ecosystem condition oceans economy climate change dynamic ocean management scenario planning system dynamics models |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00146/full |
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