Indicators are Relational: Navigating Knowledge and Power in the Development and Implementation of Coastal-Marine Indicators

Modelling Ecosystem Services Trade-offs with Community Values to Inform Decision Making for Coastal and Estuarine Restoration

Remediation to Restoration to Revitalization (R2R2R) is a framework to identify social and ecological relationships between coastal and estuarine revitalization and aquatic sediment remediation or habitat restoration projects. Undertaking ecological restoration projects along coasts and estuaries provides an opportunity to support and enhance human communities' well-being by improving and protecting aquatic and riparian habitat and reconnecting communities with the water. To consider both human and biophysical dimensions simultaneously, a community-based decision support process that considers community values with potential ecological outcomes is required. We employed the R2R2R framework to relate ecological restoration to ecosystem services (ES) and associated human benefits such as safe fishing, boating, swimming opportunities, and subsistence food gathering. This case study involved a comparative analysis of contamination remediation and habitat restoration design alternatives for Mud Lake, an embayment of the St. Louis River near Duluth, Minnesota. We also conducted a community values analysis to compare the potential community wellbeing impacts resulting from changes in ecosystem services associated with restoration alternatives. We found the mix of ES provided at Mud Lake varied among decision alternatives, resulting in trade-offs among alternatives and likely differences in well-being outcomes. Our study shows that when there are multiple ecological and social tradeoffs associated with a restoration project, considering ES with community values contributes to more equitable decision-making and can mitigate negative impacts to well-being. We argue the R2R2R framework is useful for establishing a community of practice for integrating ES and community values into decision-support for remediating coasts and estuaries along the Great Lakes.

Challenges in assessing the effects of environmental governance systems on conservation outcomes

Effective governance is crucial for the success of conservation projects aimed at protecting wildlife populations and supporting human well-being. However, few large-scale, comprehensive syntheses have been conducted on the effects of different environmental governance types on conservation outcomes (i.e., biological and ecological effectiveness or effects of conservation on human well-being), and clarity on the quantity and quality of evidence remains dispersed and ambiguous. We attempted a systematic map of the evidence on the effectiveness of different governance types to meet desired conservation outcomes in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. However, early in this effort, we observed a general lack of empirical research on the links between governance and conservation outcomes. To fill observed data gaps in the evidence base, we tried triangulating governance data from alternative sources (Protected Planet database) and pooling evidence from research conducted within the same conservation areas. Limited data were contained in the Protected Planet database, and governance types in conservation areas and landscapes were complex, making it difficult to use these approaches to assign governance types to conservation areas. To illustrate our observations from the failed systematic map attempt, we prepared a rapid evidence map that outlines a subset of the evidence base of articles linking governance types and governance principles with conservation outcomes. Only 3.2% (34 of 1067) of the articles we screened directly related conservation outcomes to governance type, and even fewer related governance principles to conservation outcomes. Based on our findings, we recommend improving the evidence base by supporting empirical research and increasing the availability and quality of governance data in freely accessible databases. These recommendations are critical for enhancing understanding of the role of governance in conservation projects and improving conservation outcomes.

Introducing Elinor for monitoring the governance and management of area-based conservation

Monitoring the governance and management effectiveness of area-based conservation has long been recognized as an important foundation for achieving national and global biodiversity goals and enabling adaptive management. However, there are still many barriers that prevent conservation actors, including those affected by governance and management systems from implementing conservation activities and programs and from gathering and using data on governance and management to inform decision-making across spatial scales and through time. We explored current and past efforts to assess governance and management effectiveness and barriers actors face in using the resulting data and insights to inform conservation decision-making. To help overcome these barriers, we developed Elinor, a free and open-source monitoring tool that builds on the work of Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom to facilitate the gathering, storing, sharing, analyzing, and use of data on environmental governance and management across spatial scales and for areas under different governance and management types. We consider the process of codesigning and piloting Elinor with conservation scientists and practitioners and the main components of the assessment and online data system. We also consider how Elinor complements existing approaches by addressing governance and management in a single assessment at a high level for different types of area-based conservation, providing flexible options for data collection, and integrating a data system with an assessment that can support data use and sharing across different spatial scales, including global monitoring of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Although challenges will continue, the process of developing Elinor and the tool itself offer tangible solutions to barriers that prevent the systematic collection and use of governance and management data. With broader uptake, Elinor can play a valuable role in enabling more effective, inclusive, and durable area-based conservation.

The Role of Understanding, Trust, and Access in Public Engagement with Environmental Activities and Decision Making: A Qualitative Study with Water Quality Practitioners

Advancing environmental health literacy in support of environmental management requires inclusive science communication, especially with environmental justice communities. In order to understand experiences of environmental practitioners in the realm of science communication, the Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions at the University of South Carolina conducted two studies on science communication and research translation with the center's researchers and partners. This qualitative case study follows up with a select group of environmental practitioners on emergent themes from the initial work. It explores the specific topics of understanding, trust, and access and how those can become barriers or facilitators of public engagement with environmental activities and decision making. The authors conducted seven in-depth qualitative interviews with center partners whose work focuses on environmental water quality and impacts on human and environmental health. Key results indicate that the public may have limited understanding of scientific processes, establishing trust takes time, and access should be incorporated into the design of programs and activities to ensure broader reach. Findings from this research are relevant to other partner-engaged work and environmental management initiatives and provide insights on experiences, practices, and actions for equitable and effective stakeholder engagement and collaborative partnerships.