# Presentation: 398088

## NOAA’s Ecosystem Approach and Plans Jack H. Dunnigan, Ecosystem Goal Lead

**Presentation to the NOAA Science Advisory Board****	**
**November 3, 2004**

## Overview of Ecosystem Goal

-   The Ecosystem Goal addresses that part of NOAA’s mission to protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources.
-   9 programs directly support achieving NOAA’s ecosystem goal:
- 	Habitat  		  Corals		  	Coastal and Marine Resources
- 	Protected Species	  Fisheries Management 	Aquaculture
- 	Enforcement	  Ecosystem Observations 	Ecosystem Research
-   U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy recommends a new era in NOAA leadership of the oceans agencies and communities at large.
-   NOAA is uniquely positioned, by its mandates and capabilities related to science, stewardship and services, to become the government’s integrated ecosystems leader.

## NOAA Strategic Plan FY05 - FY10

_**2005 to 2010 Strategic Plan**_
*The Ecosystem Goal: *
- “Protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management.”
*Outcomes:*
- Healthy and productive coastal and marine ecosystems that benefit society
- A well informed public that acts as a steward of coastal and marine ecosystems
*Strategy to achieve this goal:*
- “Engage and collaborate with our partners to achieve regional objectives by delineating regional ecosystems, forming regional ecosystem councils, and implementing cooperative strategies to improve regional ecosystem health.”

## NOAA Definitions

**What is an ecosystem?**
- An *ecosystem* is a geographically specified system of organisms (including humans), the environment, and the processes that control its dynamics.
**What is an ecosystem approach to management?**
- An *ecosystem approach to management* is geographically specified, adaptive, takes account of ecosystem knowledge and uncertainties, considers multiple external influences, and strives to balance diverse societal objectives.  Implementation needs to be incremental and collaborative.

## Humans are part of ecosystems

- California
- Current

- Gulf of Mexico

- Great Lakes

- South
- Atlantic

- North
- Atlantic

**Distribution of the Population (by region) in 2000**

- Population Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2000

- Gulf of Mexico

- 13%

- Great Lakes

- 15%

- North Atlantic

- 37%

- California

- Current

- 25%

- South Atlantic

- 10%

| Regional 
Ecosystem | CDA and EDA Population in 2000 |
| --- | --- |
| Gulf of Mexico | 16621632 |
| Great Lakes | 18723701 |
| North Atlantic | 47348802 |
| California Current  | 32405675 |
| South Atlantic | 12175118 |
| Total  | 127274928 |

**Humans are part of ecosystems**

## Ecosystem Management: A Paradigm Shift

**FROM**

**TO**

- NOTE: Some of the substantive changes between traditional resource management and an ecosystem approach to management.

- Individual Species

- Ecosystems

- Small spatial scale

- Multiple scales

- Short-term perspective

- Long-term perspective

- Humans: independent of ecosystem

- Humans: integral part of ecosystems

- Management divorced from research

- Adaptive management

- Managing commodities

- Sustaining production potential for goods and services

## NOAA Delineationof Regional Ecosystems

**August 31- Sept 1 Workshop in Charleston, SC**
**Co-chaired by Paul Sandifer (USCOP) and Doug DeMaster (Ecosystem Goal)**
**Key Federal Agencies (e.g. EPA, FWS, USGS, FS, NRCS, COE, Navy, MMS, etc.)       **
**                              **
**Academics and NGOs, (e.g., Heinz, USCOP,  South Atlantic/ Caribbean and Western Pacific FMCs, Atlantic Inter. Comm., TNC, etc.)**
**States (SC, MS, MN, AK, HI)**

**Notes:**
About 45 technical experts representing  9 federal Agencies,  5 states, one from each geographic region of the US, 3 USCOP Commissioners, 3 Fishery Management Councils, the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission, & NGOs  (TNC, Heinz Center)

We were honored to have 2 NOAA  AA’s  in attendance - Bill Hogarth and Mary Glackin and a Deputy Asst. Secretary for Policy and Budget in DOI. (Chris Kearney)

The CSC provided us excellent facilities and services, and we had great presentations by Ken Sherman/ NMFSNEFSC; Pace Wilber, NOS-CSC, and Dan Farrow- NOS SP and  also  the Debra Herandez, Coastal States Organization Chair, Katherine Lins,USGS, and John Sibert the Western Pacific FMC

## Background:Large Marine Ecosystems 

- _What are Large Marine Ecosystems (LME)?  _
- Regions of the coast/ocean defined by:
- bathymetry,
- hydrography,
- productivity, and
- trophic interactions.
- _Who uses LMEs and the LME approach?_
- EPA/NOAA US Coastal Condition Report
- United Nations Environmental Programs (UNEP)
- Global Environment Facility/World Bank (GEF)
- World Conservation Union (IUCN)
- University of British Columbia - The Sea Around Us project

## U.S. Regional Ecosystems

## IOOS Regional Association

- NOAA Challenges: Observation and Assessment of Regional Associations need consistency with NOAA Regional Ecosystems and any sub-ecoregions’ needs

## Inland BoundaryOptions 

- 1. Entire Coastal Assessment Framework
- 2. Estuarine and Coastal Drainage Areas
- 3. Inland extent of diadromous fish habitat
- 4. Head of tide/dam
- 5. The coastal portion of Coastal Assessment Framework
-     and watersheds containing diadromous fish habitat (Options  #2 +#3)
- A number of Workshop Participants supported: Option # 2 + #3
- Others supported Option #1

**Notes:**
The 2nd day of the workshop was devoted mostly to the inland boundary of the large marine ecosystems The options presented by Dan Farrow included:

There was considerable debate regarding inclusion of the entire Coastal Assessment Framework within the initially defined ecosystems, or using the initial inland boundary of the coastal watersheds with extension further inland to cover the inland range of diadromous fish. 

## Inland Boundaries

- _Area in km__2_

- EDAs	   942,792 (12%)
- FDAs 	5,373,130 (69%)
- Interior	1,463,348 (19%)

**Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF)**

**Estuarine Drainage Area** = component of a
- watershed that drains directly to estuarine or ocean waters.
**Fluvial Drainage Area** = upstream component
- of a watershed (i.e., downstream boundary defined by head of tide).
**Interior watershed** = self contained, groundwater-contributing only, or draining to outside the U.S.

## Diadromous Fish Habitat

## Potential alternatives to further delineation of regional ecosystems

- NERRS

- TNC

- NACEC

- MRC

## NOAA Plan to Move Forward

**Delineate Regional Ecosystems based on Large Marine Ecosystems**
**Further sub-division based on scientific and programmatic regional needs in coordination with stakeholders**
**Initial inland boundary = coastal watershed and inland diadromous fish habitat with further coordination at regional level**
**Next Steps:**
- Appoint NOAA regional ecosystem coordinators for the 10 regional ecosystems
- Establish NOAA team in each regional ecosystem
- Resource, plan and implement Regional Stakeholder Workshops, starting with 3-4 regions in 2005 to
- 	 - Delineate sub-ecoregions within each regional ecosystem
- 	 - Review of the inland boundary beyond the coastal watersheds
- 	 - Initial development of ecosystem health and productivity indicators

## Next Steps, continued

- Develop communication package of NOAA’s approach by December 2004
- Realign NOAA Observation System and Research and Management Programs to deliver service for regional ecosystem approach
- Continue to build partnerships with state and federal agencies, tribal government and private sector

## Conclusion/Discussion

- Adaptive ecosystem approach clearly will be incremental and must be collaborative
- NOAA’s Programs will need to be re-engineered to fit the regional needs for each ecosystem
- NOAA must move forward as quickly as possible to begin taking steps toward the ecosystem approach
- Discussion: How may the Ecosystem Goal best work with the Science Advisory Board as this process evolves?