TY - JOUR

T1 - Integrated Research for Integrated Ocean Management

AU - Rölfer, Lena

AU - Liconti, Arianna

AU - Prinz, Natalie

AU - Klöcker, Clara Antonia

N1 - We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the online questionnaire and shared their insights from their integrated research projects and initiatives. Furthermore, we thank Louis Celliers and Timothy Thomson for their valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Figures 1, 3 were produced using Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) using resources from flaticon (www.flaticon.com). Figure 2 was produced using the R package circlize (Gu et al., 2014). LR acknowledges funding from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon project I2B – CoastalClimateServices@GERICS. This work contributes to Future Earth Coasts, a Global Research Project of Future Earth. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright © 2021 Rölfer, Liconti, Prinz and Klöcker.

PY - 2021/8/17

Y1 - 2021/8/17

N2 - With the start of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2021, research priorities to support the sustainable use of coastal and ocean resources and their conservation are in the spotlight. However, to date comprehensive regulation and management of multifaceted and multi-used ecosystems has proven challenging. This is partly due to the complexity of coastal and ocean social-ecological systems (SES), as well as the multitude of approaches to manage those spaces. In order to address such challenges, magnified by often-conflicting interests between economic activities and nature conservation, there is an urgent need for integrated approaches that bridge the gap between science, policy and society, as well as across different epistemological boundaries set by various management approaches. Consequently, the interest in multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary research approaches at the national and international levels has been growing. In light of the recently started Decade of Ocean Science, this paper aims at providing key considerations for research approaches that tackle the outlined challenges in managing the ocean space. From a survey targeted at projects and initiatives that apply multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches, we draw examples of challenges and good-practices. Based on this, we propose three key considerations for an integrated research approach, including (1) target setting, resource management, and adaptive planning; (2) knowledge production and responsiveness toward policy and society; and (3) co-design, co-development, cooperation, as well as effective communication. The considerations laid out in this paper are aimed at the effective translation between science, policy, and society in support of sustainable coastal and ocean governance within the Decade of Ocean Science.

AB - With the start of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2021, research priorities to support the sustainable use of coastal and ocean resources and their conservation are in the spotlight. However, to date comprehensive regulation and management of multifaceted and multi-used ecosystems has proven challenging. This is partly due to the complexity of coastal and ocean social-ecological systems (SES), as well as the multitude of approaches to manage those spaces. In order to address such challenges, magnified by often-conflicting interests between economic activities and nature conservation, there is an urgent need for integrated approaches that bridge the gap between science, policy and society, as well as across different epistemological boundaries set by various management approaches. Consequently, the interest in multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary research approaches at the national and international levels has been growing. In light of the recently started Decade of Ocean Science, this paper aims at providing key considerations for research approaches that tackle the outlined challenges in managing the ocean space. From a survey targeted at projects and initiatives that apply multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches, we draw examples of challenges and good-practices. Based on this, we propose three key considerations for an integrated research approach, including (1) target setting, resource management, and adaptive planning; (2) knowledge production and responsiveness toward policy and society; and (3) co-design, co-development, cooperation, as well as effective communication. The considerations laid out in this paper are aimed at the effective translation between science, policy, and society in support of sustainable coastal and ocean governance within the Decade of Ocean Science.

KW - conservation

KW - interdisciplinarity

KW - ocean action

KW - ocean literacy

KW - science communication

KW - science–policy interface

KW - social–ecological systems

KW - transdisciplinarity

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114227598&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fmars.2021.693373

DO - 10.3389/fmars.2021.693373

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85114227598

VL - 8

JO - Frontiers in Marine Science

JF - Frontiers in Marine Science

SN - 2296-7745

M1 - 693373

ER -