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Sanchez GM, Eaton MJ, Garcia AM, Keisman J, Ullman K, Blackwell J, Meentemeyer RK. Integrating principles and tools of decision science into value-driven watershed planning for compensatory mitigation. Ecol Appl 2023; 33:e2766. [PMID: 36268592 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Several environmental policies strive to restore impaired ecosystems and could benefit from a consistent and transparent process-codeveloped with key stakeholders-to prioritize impaired ecosystems for restoration activities. The Clean Water Act, for example, establishes reallocation mechanisms to transfer ecosystem services from sites of disturbance to compensation sites to offset aquatic resource functions that are unavoidably lost through land development. However, planning for the prioritization of compensatory mitigation areas is often hampered by decision-making processes that fall into a myopic decision frame because they are not coproduced with stakeholders. In this study, we partnered with domain experts from the North Carolina Division of Mitigation Services to codevelop a real-world decision framework to prioritize catchments by potential for the development of mitigation projects following principles of a structured decision-making process and knowledge coproduction. Following an iterative decision analysis cycle, domain experts revised foundational components of the decision framework and progressively added complexity and realism as they gained additional insights or more information became available. Through the course of facilitated in-person and remote interactions, the codevelopment of a decision framework produced three main "breakthroughs" from the perspective of the stakeholder group: (a) recognition of the problem as a multiobjective decision driven by several values in addition to biogeophysical goals (e.g., functional uplift, restoring or enhancing lost functionality of ecosystems); (b) that the decision comprises a linked and sequential planning-to-implementation process; and (c) future risk associated with land-use and climate change must be considered. We also present an interactive tool for "on-the-fly" assessment of alternatives and tradeoff analysis, allowing domain experts to quickly test, react to, and revise prioritization strategies. The decision framework described in this study is not limited to the prioritization of compensatory mitigation activities across North Carolina but rather serves as a framework to prioritize a wide range of restoration, conservation, and resource allocation activities in similar environmental contexts across the nation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgina M Sanchez
- Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Mitchell J Eaton
- Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ana M Garcia
- South Atlantic Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jennifer Keisman
- Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Catonsville, Maryland, USA
| | - Kirsten Ullman
- Division of Mitigation Services, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - James Blackwell
- Division of Mitigation Services, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ross K Meentemeyer
- Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Silvano RAM, Baird IG, Begossi A, Hallwass G, Huntington HP, Lopes PFM, Parlee B, Berkes F. Fishers' multidimensional knowledge advances fisheries and aquatic science. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:8-12. [PMID: 36369163 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Fishers' Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) has multidimensional contributions to improve fisheries and aquatic ecosystems science, ranging from algae to whales and including management, conservation, ecology, and impact assessment. The challenges are to sustain this knowledge, recognize its value, and to include ILK holders in resource management and decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato A M Silvano
- Departamento de Ecologia e Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil; Fisheries and Food Institute - FIFO (www.fisheriesandfood.com), Rio de Janeiro 22081-010, Brazil.
| | - Ian G Baird
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Alpina Begossi
- Fisheries and Food Institute - FIFO (www.fisheriesandfood.com), Rio de Janeiro 22081-010, Brazil; Center of Food Studies and Research (NEPA), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas 13083-852, Brazil; Graduate Program, Santa Cecília University, Santos 11045-907, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Hallwass
- Fisheries and Food Institute - FIFO (www.fisheriesandfood.com), Rio de Janeiro 22081-010, Brazil; Instituto de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), São Sebastião do Paraíso 37950-000, Brazil
| | | | - Priscila F M Lopes
- Fisheries and Food Institute - FIFO (www.fisheriesandfood.com), Rio de Janeiro 22081-010, Brazil; Fishing Ecology, Management and Economics Group, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-900, Brazil
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Bertuol-Garcia D, Morsello C, N El-Hani C, Pardini R. Shared ways of thinking in Brazil about the science-practice interface in ecology and conservation. Conserv Biol 2020; 34:449-461. [PMID: 30350891 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2018] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The debate in the literature on the science-practice interface suggests a diversity of opinions on how to link science and practice to improve conservation. Understanding this diversity is key to addressing unequal power relations, avoiding the consideration of only dominant views, and identifying strategies to link science and practice. In turn, linking science and practice should promote conservation decisions that are socially robust and scientifically informed. To identify and describe the viewpoints of scientists and decision makers on how the science-practice interface should work in order to improve conservation decisions, we interviewed Brazilian scientists (ecologists and conservation scientists, n = 11) and decision makers (n = 11). We used Q methodology and asked participants to rank their agreement with 48 statements on how the science-practice interface should work in order to improve conservation decisions. We used principal component analysis to identify shared viewpoints. The predominant viewpoint, shared by scientists and decision makers, was characterized by valuing the integration of scientific and strategic knowledge to address environmental problems. The second viewpoint, held mostly by decision makers, was distinguished by assigning great importance to science in the decision-making process and calling for problem-relevant research. The third viewpoint, shared only by scientists, was characterized by an unwillingness to collaborate and a perception of scientists as producers of knowledge that may help decision makers. Most participants agreed organizations should promote collaboration and that actors and knowledge from both science and practice are relevant. Disagreements concerned specific roles assigned to actors, willingness to collaborate, and organizational and institutional arrangements considered effective to link science and practice. Our results suggest there is ample room for collaborations and that impediments lie mainly in existing organizations and formal institutional arrangements rather than in negative attitudes between scientists and decision makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Bertuol-Garcia
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, 101, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (IN-TREE), Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão do Geremoabo, s/n, Campus de Ondina/UFBA, CEP 40170-290, Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Carla Morsello
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (IN-TREE), Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão do Geremoabo, s/n, Campus de Ondina/UFBA, CEP 40170-290, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Arlindo Bettio, 1000, CEP 03828-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Charbel N El-Hani
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (IN-TREE), Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão do Geremoabo, s/n, Campus de Ondina/UFBA, CEP 40170-290, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão do Geremoabo, s/n, Campus de Ondina/UFBA, CEP 40170-290, Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Renata Pardini
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (IN-TREE), Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão do Geremoabo, s/n, Campus de Ondina/UFBA, CEP 40170-290, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, 101, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Briske DD, Bestelmeyer BT, Brown JR, Brunson MW, Thurow TL, Tanaka JA. Assessment of USDA-NRCS rangeland conservation programs: recommendation for an evidence-based conservation platform. Ecol Appl 2017; 27:94-104. [PMID: 27870290 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2016] [Revised: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was created in response to a request from the Office of Management and Budget that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) document the societal benefits anticipated to accrue from a major increase in conservation funding authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. A comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of rangeland conservation practices cost-shared with private landowners was unable to evaluate conservation benefits because outcomes were seldom documented. Four interrelated suppositions are presented to examine the causes underlying minimal documentation of conservations outcomes. These suppositions are (1) the benefits of conservation practices are considered a certainty so that documentation in not required, (2) there is minimal knowledge exchange between the USDA-NRCS and research organizations, (3) and a paucity of conservation-relevant science, as well as (4) inadequate technical support for land owners following implementation of conservation practices. We then follow with recommendations to overcome potential barriers to documentation of conservation outcomes identified for each supposition. Collectively, this assessment indicates that the existing conservation practice standards are insufficient to effectively administer large conservation investments on rangelands and that modification of these standards alone will not achieve the goals explicitly stated by CEAP. We recommend that USDA-NRCS modify its conservation programs around a more comprehensive and integrative platform that is capable of implementing evidence-based conservation. Collaborative monitoring organized around landowner-agency-scientist partnerships would represent the focal point of a Conservation Program Assessment Network (CPAN). The primary network objective would be to establish missing information feedback loops between conservation practices and their agricultural and environmental outcomes to promote learning, adaptive management, and innovation. Network information would be archived and made available to guide other, related conservation programs in relevant ecoregions. Restructuring conservation programs as we recommend would (1) provide site specific information, learning, and accountability that has been requested by CEAP and (2) further advance balanced delivery of agricultural production and environmental quality goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- D D Briske
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, 2138 TAMU, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA
| | - B T Bestelmeyer
- USDA-ARS, Jornada Experimental Range and Jornada Basin LTER, New Mexico State University, MSC 3JER, P.O. Box 3003, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003-0003, USA
| | - J R Brown
- USDA-NRCS, Jornada Experimental Range, MSC 3JER, P.O. Box 3003, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003-0003, USA
| | - M W Brunson
- Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, 5215 Old Main Hills, Logan, Utah, 84322-5212, USA
| | - T L Thurow
- Department of Ecosystems Science & Management, University of Wyoming, Agriculture Building 2013, Dept 3354, Laramie, Wyoming, 82071, USA
| | - J A Tanaka
- Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Wyoming, 1000E University Avenue, Dept 3354, Laramie, Wyoming, 82071, USA
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