LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Presented to: Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions (ABNJ), Regional Leaders Program

21 March-2 April 2016 United Nations, NYC, 25 March

Kenneth Sherman

NOAA - NMFS 1

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Large Marine Ecosystems are Naturally Formed Coastal Ocean Management Areas

ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA USED TO DETERMINE

AREAL EXTENT OF LMES:

•  Bathymetry

•  Hydrography

•  Productivity

•  Trophodynamics 3

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80% OF THE WORLD’S FISHERIES CATCHES ARE PRODUCED IN 66 LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

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Courtesy of Villy Christensen, UBC, Fisheries Centre

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ESTIMATED SOCIOECONOMIC VALUE

OF LMEs Goods and Services Contribute

$12.6 Trillion Annually to the Global Economy

Costanza et al. , NATURE, Vol. 287/ 15 May 1997

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Human expansion

Altered ecosystems

3 Mechanical

habitat destruction

2 Pollution

“Then” “Now”

1 Fishing

4 Introductions

5 Climate change

(from Jackson et al., Science vol. 293, 27 July 2001) 8

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LMEs are Global Centers of Effort to Introduce Ecosystem

Based Management (EBM) Practices in Support of

Sustaining Coastal Ocean Goods and Services

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT: A PARADIGM SHIFT

FROM TO Individual species Ecosystems

Small spatial scale Multiple scales

Short-term perspective Long-term perspective

Humans: independent of ecosystems

Humans: integral part of ecosystems

Management divorced from research

Adaptive management

Managing commodities Sustaining production potential for goods and services

From: Lubchenco J. 1994. The scientific basis of ecosystem management: Ecosystem management: Status and potential: 103rd Congress, 2d session, Committee Print. U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents. 33-39 10

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•  Productivity

•  Fish and Fisheries

•  Pollution and Ecosystem Health

•  Socioeconomics

•  Governance

Five LME Assessment Modules

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LME – EBM Practices are Focused on :

•  Sustaining fisheries

•  Controlling pollution

•  Restoring habitats

•  Coastal planning

•  Adaptation to climate change

Seminal LME Published Volumes

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5 MODULES WITH INDICATORS

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•  1992 Rio “Prevent, reduce, and control degradation of the marine environment so as to maintain and improve its life support and productive capacities”

•  2002 Johannesburg “Encourage the application by 2010 of the ecosystem approach”

•  2012 Rio +20 “We therefore commit to protect and restore the health, productivity, and resilience of oceans and marine ecosystems….”

Ecosystem Based Management of LMEs Supported by Agreed Upon Coastal Ocean

Goals of 3 UN Environmental Summits

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•  In 1995 the GEF Operational Guidelines support LMEs as global Spatial Domains for advancing toward Ecosystem Based Assessment and Management Goals

•  The five Module LME Approach is adopted by the

GEF to Operationalize Ecosystem Based Management (EBM)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Established in 1992 as a Program

to Support UNCED Goals

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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO SUPPORT LME-EBM PROJECTS FROM GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY TRUST FUND CONTINGENT ON SUCCESSFUL GRANT PROPOSALS INCLUDING: •  TRANSBOUNDARY DIAGNOSTIC

ANALYSIS (TDA)

•  STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN (SAP)

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The 15 Fastest Warming

LMEs (1982-2006

Fusion Between LME Theory and LME - Assessment and Management

TO EBM Practice

5 Modules Productivity Fish & Fisheries Pollution & Ecosystem Health Socioeconomic Governance

Integrated via TDA SAP Practice Process

GEF International Waters Operational Strategy

Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses

TDAs

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Strategic Action Plans SAPs

Supports LME Approach to EBM

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1995-2014 $3.15 billion

2014-2018 $2.86 billion

Total EBM/LME support to developing countries $6.01 billion

From Theory to Practice GEF Financial Support For Planning &

Implementing EBM Goals in LMEs

Engaging with partners •  5 UN Agencies

–  UNDP –  UNEP –  UNIDO –  FAO –  IOC UNESCO

•  2 NGOs –  IUCN –  WWF

•  2 Global Financial Institutions –  Global Environment Facility –  World Bank

•  110 countries moving toward ecosystem-based sustainable development

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22 LMEs with GEF-Supported EBM

Projects since 1994

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Mr. Zhanhai Zhang, Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, State Oceanic Administration, China, and Mr. Sang-Pyo Suh, Director, Economic Organization & Environment Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea, signed the statement of agreement approving the SAP at an endorsement ceremony in China. Representatives from UNDP/GEF, the project manager, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea participated as observers of the signing.

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Yellow Sea LME SAP: carrying capacity, ecosystem services, and regional targets that maintain services

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Benguela Commission Signing of the Interim Agreement in

2006; Angola signed in 2007.

Going Forward to 2018

Assist LME Network in EBM coordination and integration of an estimated $2.86 billion in GEF supported EBM projects in:

Fisheries recovery and sustainability

Pollution and ecosystem health

Habitat Recovery

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) 27

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LME Stress Reduction Nutrients

N inputs and transport by rivers to Large Marine Ecosystems.

Sewage Fertilizer

Atmospheric Deposition

Manure

Natural N2-fixation

Crop N2-fixation

29 Symbols for diagram courtesy of the Integration and Application Network (ian.umces.edu/symbols), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

DIN inputs to LMEs from land-based sources predicted by the NEWS DIN model

(Figure from Lee and Seitzinger( 2009). 30

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Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen in a Business-as-usual (BAU) Forecast

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Adaptation to Stress on LMEs from

Climate Change

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The 15 fastest warming LMEs around the globe

Accelerated Warming of the World’s LMEs in 61 of 63 LME Assessments

From Behrenfeld et al. 2007 34

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The 15 Fastest Warming

LMEs (1982-2006

The global effects of climate warming on primary productivity are projected by latitude for the years 240-2060. The primary productivity change (Pg C deg-1year-1) and temperature increase, is shown above for six Atlantic Ocean Circulation models. Modified from Sarmiento et al. 2004.

Estimate of 2040 – 2060 primary production change (Pg-C deg-1 yr-1 )

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30° North to 30° South Mitigating Action • Circumglobal Belt of 29 LMEs at Risk from Projected Primary Productivity Declines

• 29 LMEs annually produce 40.6mmt or 50.7% average annual biomass yields

• 20 LMEs border GEF eligible countries

• 16 LMEs are subjects of present or completed GEF-LME EBM projects

• FAO Precautionary Principle implementation Serves as a Mitigation Option

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“Today the LME approach is the

cornerstone of the GEF strategy for ocean and coastal conservation, and the GEF is

the leading global funding source for transboundary water systems.”

From Coast to Coast: Celebrating 20 Years of Transboundary Management of Our Shared Oceans, Chapter 1 Sustaining the World’s Large Marine Ecosystems (2015). GEF, Washington, DC. 178 p. ISBN 978-92-808-6068-9.

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“Working in partnership with many countries and institutions, GEF looks forward to building on successes to date to ensure the sustainability of our oceans for the benefit of present and future generations.”* Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, The Global Environment Facility *From Foreword to From Coast to Coast: Celebrating 20 Years of Transboundary Management of Our Shared Oceans (2015). GEF, Washington, DC. 178 p. ISBN 978-92-808-6068-9.