Integrated
Assessments provide information so managers and scientists can evaluate an ecological
system, develop options for future action, and identify gaps in the understanding
of the issues. An assessment describes the ecosystem, appraises its current condition,
forecasts the future ecological health using current management strategies, and
evaluates alternate strategies and their potential impacts. The Center for Human
Health Risk at Hollings Marine Laboratory actively engages with
HML partners as well as other
NOAA and academic researchers to identify opportunities to address
coastal development impacts and coastal management needs through Integrated Assessments.
An Assessment “is a formal synthesis and quantitative analysis of information
on relevant natural and socioeconomic factors relative to specified ecosystem management
goals. It involves and informs citizens, industry representatives, scientists, resource
managers, and policy makers through formal processes to contribute to attaining
the goals of Ecosystem Approach to Management” (Levin et al. 2008)
Integrated Assessment’s provide information that 1) identifies objectives and priorities
for marine protection and enhancement, 2) outlines agreed-upon actions and implementation
plans to protect and enhance marine ecosystems, 3) serves as a tool for cumulative
impact analysis and implementation funding, and 4) maintains or improves ecosystem
health and the health of high-priority threatened species. An Integrated Assessment
also identifies gaps in socioeconomic and environmental information that impede
effective ecosystem management. These information gaps guide future research. Researchers
at the Center for Human Health Risk, in collaboration with other
NOAA and academic researchers, are working toward developing Integrated
Assessments that focus on protected coastal ecosystems in the Southeastern United
States. Efforts are underway to develop and conduct assessments in:
- Georgia, in collaboration with the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research
Reserve (SINERR)
- As a result of on-going research within the SINERR coastal watershed, important
human and environmental health questions have resulted in a focused and concentrated
collaboration among local and state agencies such as the GA Department of Natural
Resources and regional/national federal agencies such as
NOAA and the Centers for Disease Control. An initial IA focused on
the question of understanding impacts to ecosystem health, including human health,
within the SINERR watershed would provide at least two specific products: 1) a synthesis
of existing research information which would identify and clarify important research
gaps and 2) a delineated plan of management goals for this region. Both will more
fully inform future research and management related to health concerns. The assessment
area in Georgia includes a native Geechee population—an important component to the
South Eastern U.S.’s cultural ecosystem services. Understanding the connections
between environmental conditions and human health and well-being is a critical step
in protecting important environmental and cultural resources within Georgia. This
understanding will lead to improved development practices and mitigation efforts
that protect the very resources that people seek in coastal areas—thereby continuing
to support a growing economy through tourism and managed development at the coast.
Balancing revenue with environmental and human health protection continues to be
one of the primary coastal management challenges.
- North Carolina, in collaboration with the NC National Estuarine Research Reserve
(NCNERR)
- A recent NCCOS comprehensive assessment of the status of ecosystem condition and
stressor impacts in all four NCNERR components (Cooksey et al. 2008,
Sanger et al. 2008) will
serve as a foundation for an IA in NC. The assessment was based on multiple indicators
of ecological and human-dimension indicators, throughout estuarine waters of North
Carolina and evaluated the impacts of coastal development on tidal creek sentinel
habitats. Since additional coastal research data is plentiful along the N.C. coast
and because N.C. is predicted to have very profound changes in ecosystem services
from rising sea level, this site provides NCCOS scientists the opportunity to include
climate change as an important stressor in assessing coastal development impacts.
Integrated assessments (IA) are driven by identified coastal manager needs to better
understand linkages between ecosystem condition, changing environmental impacts
(e.g. climate change, coastal development), and human health concerns. Additionally,
contributions to these assessments at
CHHR, and others across
NCCOS, are expected to support various marine spatial planning
needs nationally and internationally. The broad range of science expertise available
at the Hollings Marine Laboratory is important to IA’s development as expertise
in environmental microbiology, contaminant chemistry, marine animals, marine ecotoxicology,
and marine ecology capabilities are able to be successful employed in a single assessment.
Related Information
- Levin, P.S., M.J. Fogarty, G.C. Matlock, and M. Ernst. 2008. Integrated ecosystem
assessments. U.S. Dept. Commer.,NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-92, 20 p.
- Cooksey, C., J. Hyland, E. Wirth, W.L. Balthis, M. Fulton, D.Whitall and S. White.
2008. Support for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine
Research Reserves System (NERRS), Volume II: Assessment of Ecological Condition
and Stressor Impacts in Subtidal Waters of the North Carolina NERRS. NOAA Technical
Memorandum NOS NCCOS 83. NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular
Research,Charleston, SC.
- Sanger, D., A. Blair, G. DiDonato, T. Washburn, S. Jones, R. Chapman, D. Bergquist,
G. Riekerk, E. Wirth, J. Stewart, D. White, L. Vandiver, S. White, D. Whitall. 2008.
Support for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine Research
Reserves System (NERRS), Volume I: The Impacts of Coastal Development on the Ecology
and Human Well-being of Tidal Creek Ecosystems of the US Southeast.