http://www.ohibc.org/about.html
Assessing ocean health in British Columbia
Working with local partners over the next two years, we will adapt the Ocean Health Index to capture characteristics that make British Columbia’s coastal ecosystems unique. Our approach will incorporate locally meaningful information, priorities, and perspectives in order to track change in the health of B.C.’s ocean during the past ten years and to describe how management may have contributed to these patterns.
Why we are doing this
With this regional assessment of the Ocean Health Index we aim to address three core questions that inform management needs:
1.Have past management actions affected overall ocean health, and if so, in what ways?
2.How do different communities view and value aspects of ocean health, and how does this influence people's understanding of how healthy the ocean is?
3.How can the Index be used to inform and support ongoing comprehensive ocean planning efforts?
Where we are in the process
Our research team, based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), is currently working on collecting social and ecological information as well as building relationships with managers, scientists, and other experts in the region. From January through May 2015 our goal is to learn as much about the people, places, and characteristics of the local environment that make British Columbia special. We are currently reaching out to regional experts to begin building a network of collaborators. We plan to host a workshop in Fall 2015 to involve local community members in the assessment process and develop a deeper understanding of what sustainability and a healthy ocean mean to the people of British Columbia. We also have a follow-up meeting tentatively scheduled for Summer 2016 to help develop local preference for how to prioritize and weight each goal included in the Index.
Assessing ocean health in British Columbia
Working with local partners over the next two years, we will adapt the Ocean Health Index to capture characteristics that make British Columbia’s coastal ecosystems unique. Our approach will incorporate locally meaningful information, priorities, and perspectives in order to track change in the health of B.C.’s ocean during the past ten years and to describe how management may have contributed to these patterns.
Why we are doing this
With this regional assessment of the Ocean Health Index we aim to address three core questions that inform management needs:
1.Have past management actions affected overall ocean health, and if so, in what ways?
2.How do different communities view and value aspects of ocean health, and how does this influence people's understanding of how healthy the ocean is?
3.How can the Index be used to inform and support ongoing comprehensive ocean planning efforts?
Where we are in the process
Our research team, based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), is currently working on collecting social and ecological information as well as building relationships with managers, scientists, and other experts in the region. From January through May 2015 our goal is to learn as much about the people, places, and characteristics of the local environment that make British Columbia special. We are currently reaching out to regional experts to begin building a network of collaborators. We plan to host a workshop in Fall 2015 to involve local community members in the assessment process and develop a deeper understanding of what sustainability and a healthy ocean mean to the people of British Columbia. We also have a follow-up meeting tentatively scheduled for Summer 2016 to help develop local preference for how to prioritize and weight each goal included in the Index.
