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Prioritizing marine spatial planning efforts with the assets, threats and solvability framework
Citation:
Carriger, J. AND S. Yee. Prioritizing marine spatial planning efforts with the assets, threats and solvability framework. Presented at SETAC North America 33rd Annual Meeting, November 11 - 15, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Conference poster presentation for SETAC 2012
Description:
The application of marine zoning and spatial planning methods has seen a worldwide increase to stem unsustainable use of coastal seas. However, prioritizing marine regions for focused management efforts and protection can be a difficult process. Uncertainties from the provision of benefits, the threats to those benefits, and future success of management can be great in a marine region. The assets, threats, and solvability (ATS) model was adapted and modified for spatially explicit prioritization of marine planning. The ATS framework offers capabilities for screening level assessments of marine regions in order to target high priority areas for management which can be followed with more detailed field monitoring and valuation. The ATS framework is being applied in developing management prioritization maps for coastal seas adjacent to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Spatial layers describing benthic habitat types, stressor location and intensity, and boundaries for marine protected areas were collected and related functionally through probabilistic Bayesian networks. Coupling the Bayesian networks to the ATS framework provides better characterization of uncertainties in spatial relationships, and consequently uncertainties in prioritization of different areas. The Bayesian network may further be used to infer how alternate management scenarios influence the distribution and intensity of assets and threats. Results from this work will allow us to evaluate the potential of the framework for supporting management objectives and the spatial planning process.