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Applications and Implications of the Ocean Health Index
February 19, 2013
Experts Talk
It has been a long time in the making, and I’ll admit a
large sense of elation and relief at this moment. The publication of our paper
presenting the global results for the Ocean Health Index, and the concomitant
launch of the website, has been something to which I’ve committed the last two
and a half years of my life.
It’s tempting to kick up my heels and take a long vacation. Maybe someplace inland, to get oceans off my mind for a little bit. But I realize it’s not quite time for that (well, I am going to allow myself a few days off . . .)
From the inception of the project we’ve intended practical (and hopefully useful) applications of the Index. Publishing the paper and launching the website are just the beginning of the process of turning ideas into practical solutions, a process which if successful could last years into the future.
It’s tempting to kick up my heels and take a long vacation. Maybe someplace inland, to get oceans off my mind for a little bit. But I realize it’s not quite time for that (well, I am going to allow myself a few days off . . .)
From the inception of the project we’ve intended practical (and hopefully useful) applications of the Index. Publishing the paper and launching the website are just the beginning of the process of turning ideas into practical solutions, a process which if successful could last years into the future.
Lead Scientist, Ocean Health Index
It’s of course impossible to know how the Index will
actually get used, and by whom, but we have had several key audiences in mind. So
now that the Index is in the public domain, our task is to try to reach the
various audiences that might have practical use for it, and help them
understand and use it in a way that meets their needs. In other words, it’s not quite time to relax.
The most obvious audience we’d like to reach is decision-makers, people who must decide how we use and interact with the ocean and then implement those decisions. This is a very diverse group of people with a huge variety of decisions to make, so this audience is actually many. It includes government agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere that oversee marine sanctuaries and protected areas, fisheries and wildlife, or coastal planning and development, as well as policy makers at executive and legislative levels who set broad mandates or specific legislation. How should ocean space be allocated to different uses (or protection) and what are the potential tradeoffs of such decisions? How much coastal restoration should we do and where will benefits accrue from such actions? Where should resources be invested to gather more data and information to best improve decision making? All of these questions and many, many more can benefit from applying the Ocean Health Index.
We also recognize the importance of engaging the general public to learn about and discuss ocean issues. The power of an informed constituency is key to sustainably achieving the ocean’s benefits and overcoming challenges to ocean health. Many of our efforts have been designed to speak to the needs and wants of people who live with or benefit from the ocean, and to give them the tools they need to better understand what ocean health means and how one can affect it. The Index was intentionally designed around the values people have and want from the ocean – the 10 goals that comprise the overall Index. From clean water to jobs to fisheries and coastal habitats, people should be able to find what they care about and want to track in the Index. We also know that few people have access to scientific journals or the time to thoroughly read scientific papers or a project reports. To this end, we really hope the website (oceanhealthindex.org) provides a useful entry point for people to learn about and use the Index.
Finally, we also hope to reach the business community. Although it’s unlikely any company would make decisions with the aim to influence Index scores (no single company would likely be able to influence overall Index scores), companies may respond to Index scores as a way to demonstrate their commitment to improving sustainable use of the ocean. In this way, the Index can serve as a compass, providing direction, rather than a metric for business success or influence.
And of course there may be, and hopefully will be, other audiences who find the Index useful. I’m eager to see where things go, and help in any way that I can.
I began my career as a scientist hoping the work I do would make a difference in managing and protecting the ocean, helping sustain both the life in the ocean and the people who benefit from it. Working on the Ocean Health Index has been an extraordinary opportunity to try to make that dream a reality, working with an amazing group of people, a range of outstanding institutions, and funders with the vision to support both the science and the outreach and application of that science. I know that no single tool can save the ocean, but I’m optimistic that what we’ve created here can make a real, meaningful, and lasting difference in the health of the world’s ocean.
In short, my work has just begun.
The most obvious audience we’d like to reach is decision-makers, people who must decide how we use and interact with the ocean and then implement those decisions. This is a very diverse group of people with a huge variety of decisions to make, so this audience is actually many. It includes government agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere that oversee marine sanctuaries and protected areas, fisheries and wildlife, or coastal planning and development, as well as policy makers at executive and legislative levels who set broad mandates or specific legislation. How should ocean space be allocated to different uses (or protection) and what are the potential tradeoffs of such decisions? How much coastal restoration should we do and where will benefits accrue from such actions? Where should resources be invested to gather more data and information to best improve decision making? All of these questions and many, many more can benefit from applying the Ocean Health Index.
We also recognize the importance of engaging the general public to learn about and discuss ocean issues. The power of an informed constituency is key to sustainably achieving the ocean’s benefits and overcoming challenges to ocean health. Many of our efforts have been designed to speak to the needs and wants of people who live with or benefit from the ocean, and to give them the tools they need to better understand what ocean health means and how one can affect it. The Index was intentionally designed around the values people have and want from the ocean – the 10 goals that comprise the overall Index. From clean water to jobs to fisheries and coastal habitats, people should be able to find what they care about and want to track in the Index. We also know that few people have access to scientific journals or the time to thoroughly read scientific papers or a project reports. To this end, we really hope the website (oceanhealthindex.org) provides a useful entry point for people to learn about and use the Index.
Finally, we also hope to reach the business community. Although it’s unlikely any company would make decisions with the aim to influence Index scores (no single company would likely be able to influence overall Index scores), companies may respond to Index scores as a way to demonstrate their commitment to improving sustainable use of the ocean. In this way, the Index can serve as a compass, providing direction, rather than a metric for business success or influence.
And of course there may be, and hopefully will be, other audiences who find the Index useful. I’m eager to see where things go, and help in any way that I can.
I began my career as a scientist hoping the work I do would make a difference in managing and protecting the ocean, helping sustain both the life in the ocean and the people who benefit from it. Working on the Ocean Health Index has been an extraordinary opportunity to try to make that dream a reality, working with an amazing group of people, a range of outstanding institutions, and funders with the vision to support both the science and the outreach and application of that science. I know that no single tool can save the ocean, but I’m optimistic that what we’ve created here can make a real, meaningful, and lasting difference in the health of the world’s ocean.
In short, my work has just begun.