Presentation Abstract

The Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) is a collaborative, government-to-government initiative between the Province of British Columbia and 17 member First Nations in an area that encompasses approximately 102,000 km2 along two-thirds of British Columbia’s coast. Between 2011 and 2016, the Partners worked together complete a set of comprehensive marine plans for four sub-regions and an accompanying Regional Action Framework (RAF) emphasizing ecosystem-based management (EBM) of coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. MaPP sub-regional plans and the RAF inform decisions on the sustainable economic development and stewardship of the North Pacific Coast’s ecosystems by providing recommendations for key areas of marine management. One area of focus is development and implementation of a framework for cumulative effects assessment and management. The framework is split into four phases: foundation, assessment, management, and monitoring, and results are iteratively updated through formal adaptive management. The MaPP team is currently using this framework to advance cumulative effects assessment and management in the Skeena Estuary, using best available science and local and traditional knowledge to identify a set of values, ecosystem indicators, potential drivers of change, and management benchmarks and triggers (i.e., levels of an indicator at which management should respond). We describe key lessons learned that are relevant for applying cumulative effects frameworks in other regions, including (1) methods for identifying values, pathways of effects models, and indicators for pilot values (e.g., estuaries, salmon, and access to marine resources); (2) the role of a collaborative governance model; and (3) challenges and opportunities for data collection, monitoring, storage and management.

Session Title

Beyond theory: The Assessment and Management of Cumulative Effects in the Salish Sea

Keywords

Cumulative effects assessment, Marine plan partnership, Estuaries, Indicators

Conference Track

SSE8: Policy, Management, and Regulations

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

SSEC Identifier

SSE8-236

Start Date

5-4-2018 10:45 AM

End Date

5-4-2018 11:00 AM

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Ecological assessment (Biology)--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Ecosystem management--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

COinS
 
Apr 5th, 10:45 AM Apr 5th, 11:00 AM

Lessons from cumulative effects assessment and management initiatives on the North Pacific Coast of British Columbia

The Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) is a collaborative, government-to-government initiative between the Province of British Columbia and 17 member First Nations in an area that encompasses approximately 102,000 km2 along two-thirds of British Columbia’s coast. Between 2011 and 2016, the Partners worked together complete a set of comprehensive marine plans for four sub-regions and an accompanying Regional Action Framework (RAF) emphasizing ecosystem-based management (EBM) of coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. MaPP sub-regional plans and the RAF inform decisions on the sustainable economic development and stewardship of the North Pacific Coast’s ecosystems by providing recommendations for key areas of marine management. One area of focus is development and implementation of a framework for cumulative effects assessment and management. The framework is split into four phases: foundation, assessment, management, and monitoring, and results are iteratively updated through formal adaptive management. The MaPP team is currently using this framework to advance cumulative effects assessment and management in the Skeena Estuary, using best available science and local and traditional knowledge to identify a set of values, ecosystem indicators, potential drivers of change, and management benchmarks and triggers (i.e., levels of an indicator at which management should respond). We describe key lessons learned that are relevant for applying cumulative effects frameworks in other regions, including (1) methods for identifying values, pathways of effects models, and indicators for pilot values (e.g., estuaries, salmon, and access to marine resources); (2) the role of a collaborative governance model; and (3) challenges and opportunities for data collection, monitoring, storage and management.