Governance and Management of Coasts and Ocean in the face of uncertainty. A Guide for Decision Makers

Author(s):  
Isaac Azuz-Adeath ◽  

For Mexico, which has under its control more than three million square kilometers of maritime surface, its oceans and coasts are still the elephant in the kitchen of politics territorial, environmental, socioeconomic, administrative, scientific and cultural public. It is an extensive and heterogeneous work in terms of themes and scope. The 42 chapters cover reviews of international experiences in governance, coastal erosion studies, meteorology and education, from coastal management to postgraduate studies. The problems of epicontinental wetlands, socio-ecological problems are also exposed, and policy instruments for the conservation, management and restoration of marine species and ecosystems are analyzed. They also touch on issues of introduction of clean energy in coastal areas, fisheries and aquaculture and current issues such as sargassum and plastics on coasts and seas, highlighting the lack of specific information on this issue on the Mexican seas. Scenarios and impacts of climate change and different adaptation possibilities are also addressed. A kind of common denominator is the presentation of lessons learned and recommendations in terms of management and socio-environmental organization. Although some of the policy instruments they mention are not necessarily current, the analyzes and reflections make it possible to take advantage of the experiences.

Author(s):  
Vicki L. Sauter ◽  
Srikanth Mudigonda ◽  
Ashok Subramanian ◽  
Ray Creely

Increasingly, decision makers are incorporating large quantities of interrelated data in their decision making. Decision support systems need to provide visualization tools to help decision makers glean trends and patterns that will help them design and evaluate alternative actions. While visualization software that might be incorporated into decision support systems is available, the literature does not provide sufficient guidelines for selecting among possible visualizations or their attributes. This paper describes a case study of the development of a visualization component to represent regional relationship data. It addresses the specific information goals of the target organization, various constraints that needed to be satisfied, and how the goals were achieved via a suitable choice of visualization technology and visualization algorithms. The development process highlighted the need for specific visualizations to be driven by the specific problem characteristics as much as general rules of visualization. Lessons learned during the process and how these lessons may be generalized to address similar requirements is presented.


Author(s):  
Vicki L. Sauter ◽  
Srikanth Mudigonda ◽  
Ashok Subramanian ◽  
Ray Creely

Increasingly, decision makers are incorporating large quantities of interrelated data in their decision making. Decision support systems need to provide visualization tools to help decision makers glean trends and patterns that will help them design and evaluate alternative actions. While visualization software that might be incorporated into decision support systems is available, the literature does not provide sufficient guidelines for selecting among possible visualizations or their attributes. This paper describes a case study of the development of a visualization component to represent regional relationship data. It addresses the specific information goals of the target organization, various constraints that needed to be satisfied, and how the goals were achieved via a suitable choice of visualization technology and visualization algorithms. The development process highlighted the need for specific visualizations to be driven by the specific problem characteristics as much as general rules of visualization. Lessons learned during the process and how these lessons may be generalized to address similar requirements is presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-162
Author(s):  
Paul Tudorache ◽  
Lucian Ispas

AbstractUsing the lessons learned from recent military operations such as Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) from Syria and Iraq, we proposed to investigate the need for tactical military units to adapt operationally to grapple with the most common requirements specific to current operational environments, but also for those that can be foreseen in the future. In this regard, by identifying the best practices in the field that can be met at the level of some important armies, such as USA and UK, we will try to determine a common denominator of most important principles whose application may facilitate both operational and organizational adaptation necessary for tactical military units to perform missions and tasks in the most unknown future operational environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6303
Author(s):  
Andrea M. Bassi ◽  
Valeria Costantini ◽  
Elena Paglialunga

The European Green Deal (EGD) is the most ambitious decarbonisation strategy currently envisaged, with a complex mix of different instruments aiming at improving the sustainability of the development patterns of the European Union in the next 30 years. The intrinsic complexity brings key open questions on the cost and effectiveness of the strategy. In this paper we propose a novel methodological approach to soft-linking two modelling tools, a systems thinking (ST) and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, in order to provide a broader ex-ante policy evaluation process. We use ST to highlight the main economic feedback loops the EGD strategy might trigger. We then quantify these loops with a scenario analysis developed in a dynamic CGE framework. Our main finding is that such a soft-linking approach allows discovery of multiple channels and spillover effects across policy instruments that might help improve the policy mix design. Specifically, positive spillovers arise from the adoption of a revenue recycling mechanism that ensures strong support for the development and diffusion of clean energy technologies. Such spillover effects benefit not only the European Union (EU) market but also non-EU countries via trade-based technology transfer, with a net positive effect in terms of global emissions reduction.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Knowlton ◽  
Jeremy Jackson

Coral reefs are the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet, with at least one quarter of all marine species associated with reefs today. This diversity, which remains very poorly understood, is nevertheless extraordinary when one considers the small proportion of ocean area that is occupied by coral reefs. Networks of competitive and trophic linkages are also exceptionally complex and dense. Reefs have a long fossil record, although extensive reef building comes and goes. In the present, coral reefs sometimes respond dramatically to disturbances, and collapses are not always followed by recoveries. Today, much of this failure to recover appears to stem from the fact that most reefs are chronically stressed by human activities, judging by observations of recovery at exceptional locations where local human activity is minimal. How long reefs can continue to bounce back in the face of warming and acidification remains an open question. Another big uncertainty is how much loss of biodiversity will occur with the inevitable degradation of coral reefs that will continue in most places for the foreseeable future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Van Den Hazel

Abstract The impacts of climate change are not distributed equally. Some people will experience natural disasters first hand, some will be affected more gradually over time, and some will experience only indirect impacts. There are data from the United nations that show the interest of youth on climate change. Close to half a million youth around the world have taken action on climate change through SGP [small grants programmes] projects in their homes, schools and communities. (UNDP, 2015). 84% of the surveyed young people agree that they need more information to prevent climate change. (UNEP, 2011). Furthermore, about 73% of surveyed youth say they currently feel the effects climate change. (UNEP, GlobeScan Survey, 2008). Some 89% of youth respondents say young people can make a difference on climate change. [UNEP, 2008]. But only 9% of youth are very confident the world will act quickly enough to address climate change. [UNEP, 2008]. Young people are key actors in raising awareness, running educational programmes, promoting sustainable lifestyles, conserving nature, supporting renewable energy, adopting environmentally-friendly practices and implementing adaptation and mitigation projects[UNFCCC]. Action by youth, as protest school strikes or speeches to the UN by Greta Thunberg, urge immediate action from governments, business leaders and school leaders. There are different reasons for this action by youth. The psycho-social impacts of a changing climate are generally under lighted in these reasons. Are the responses by society enough to minimize suffering and promote resilience of youth in the face of the challenging impacts of climate change? Or do governments and businesses enough while they increasingly seem to be moving toward action on climate change, as they proclaim to cut their own emissions or be active in their energy transition? It is not clear whether those actions are enough to satisfy the next generation of customers, employees and decision makers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Raso ◽  
Jan Kwakkel ◽  
Jos Timmermans

Climate change raises serious concerns for policymakers that want to ensure the success of long-term policies. To guarantee satisfactory decisions in the face of deep uncertainties, adaptive policy pathways might be used. Adaptive policy pathways are designed to take actions according to how the future will actually unfold. In adaptive pathways, a monitoring system collects the evidence required for activating the next adaptive action. This monitoring system is made of signposts and triggers. Signposts are indicators that track the performance of the pathway. When signposts reach pre-specified trigger values, the next action on the pathway is implemented. The effectiveness of the monitoring system is pivotal to the success of adaptive policy pathways, therefore the decision-makers would like to have sufficient confidence about the future capacity to adapt on time. “On time” means activating the next action on a pathway neither so early that it incurs unnecessary costs, nor so late that it incurs avoidable damages. In this paper, we show how mapping the relations between triggers and the probability of misclassification errors inform the level of confidence that a monitoring system for adaptive policy pathways can provide. Specifically, we present the “trigger-probability” mapping and the “trigger-consequences” mappings. The former mapping displays the interplay between trigger values for a given signpost and the level of confidence regarding whether change occurs and adaptation is needed. The latter mapping displays the interplay between trigger values for a given signpost and the consequences of misclassification errors for both adapting the policy or not. In a case study, we illustrate how these mappings can be used to test the effectiveness of a monitoring system, and how they can be integrated into the process of designing an adaptive policy.


Significance The extreme cold comes as the province is still dealing with the damage caused by unprecedented levels of heat and wildfires last summer and then record levels of rainfall and flooding in November. Its experience has focused attention on Canada’s wider vulnerability to the impact of shifting weather patterns and climate change. Impacts The natural resource sectors that are vital to Canada’s economy face an increasingly difficult environment for extraction. Indigenous peoples across the country will see their traditional ways of life further disrupted by climate change. The increasingly evident impacts of climate change on day-to-day life will see voters demand greater action from government. Significant investment in green initiatives, clean energy and climate resiliency initiatives will boost green industries.


Author(s):  
Piotr Jurga

In the face of many global challenges, including ongoing climate change, policymakers are seeking viable solutions. The bioeconomy and its development are one of them. Partnerships, such as BIOEAST, are established to support the development of the bioeconomy in CEE countries. The conversion of biological biomass into new bio-products with high added value can contribute to a reduced environmental impact. One of the three economic sectors producing biomass for manufacturing is agriculture. Within the framework of this study, using the PRODCOM statistical list, which provides statistics on the production value of manufactured products, an assessment of manufacturing involving biomass processing utilizing biomass from the agricultural sector in countries of the BIOEAST initiative was performed. In BIOEAST Initiative countries, biomass from agriculture is predominantly used by the food production sector, followed by economic sectors, such as beverages, textiles, leather and wearing apparel. In several BIOEAST initiative countries, the percentage of the production value utilizing biomass from the agricultural sector is remarkable. Poland is one of those countries for which the value of manufacturing production utilizing agricultural biomass represents almost 30% of the total manufacturing value. The results obtained from the analysis, along with detailed information on specific product groups, can provide valuable information for decision makers planning the development of the bioeconomy in reviewed BIOEAST countries, including Poland.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document