Improving how science informs policy within the Ecosystem Approach

Authors

  • Kathleen C. Williams U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
  • Scott P. Sowa Great Lakes Program, The Nature Conservancy, Lansing, Michigan, USA
  • Matthew Child International Joint Commission, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
  • Marc Gaden Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Janette Anderson Independent Researcher, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • David B. Bunnell U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, MI USA
  • Paul Drca Essex Region Conservation Authority, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
  • Roger L. Knight Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Richard K. Norton Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Rachael F. Taylor CSS Inc. under contract to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management, Traverse City, MI, USA

Keywords:

ecosystem approach, science-policy scale, collaboration, boundary organizations, systems thinking

Abstract

Science is fundamental to sound policies, particularly when it comes to implementing an Ecosystem Approach. Science can and should inform nearly all facets of an Ecosystem Approach, yet challenges remain to realizing this goal. To help identify and better understand these challenges we used a qualitative comparative case study approach to identify and characterize the challenges and successes of implementing a science-driven Ecosystem Approach in the Laurentian Great Lakes. These case studies include delisting of Areas of Concern, improving coastal resilience, and addressing declining offshore lake productivity. These case studies were selected because they provide a set of very different, yet complementary, cases for assessing implementation, as well as the factors influencing the science-policy exchange. Through this comparative study, we identified a diverse set of challenges and successes, that were both systemic and case specific. Emerging from this comparative assessment were principles and enabling conditions (e.g. scale, governance, shared goals) we believe are critical to consider when establishing or improving a science-driven Ecosystem Approach.

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Published

2024-04-01

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 2 (2024): Ecosystem Approach in the 21st Century: Guiding science and management

Section

Research article

License

Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.