Browsing by Author "O'Leary, Bethan C."
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- Embracing Nature-based Solutions to promote resilient marine and coastal ecosystemsPublication . O'Leary, Bethan C.; Fonseca, Catarina; Cornet, Cindy C.; de Vries, Mindert B.; Degia, A. Karima; Failler, Pierre; Furlan, Elisa; Garrabou, Joaquim; Gil, Artur José Freire; Hawkins, Julie P.; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Le Roux, Xavier; Peck, Myron A.; Pérez, Géraldine; Queirós, Ana M.; Różyński, Grzegorz; Sanchez-Arcilla, Agustín; Simide, Rémy; Pinto, Isabel Sousa; Trégarot, Ewan; Roberts, Callum M.The world is struggling to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the human footprint on nature. We therefore urgently need to think about how to achieve more with actions to address mounting challenges for human health and wellbeing from biodiversity loss, climate change effects, and unsustainable economic and social development. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a systemic approach and an important component of the response to these challenges. In marine and coastal spaces, NBS can contribute to improved environmental health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a more sustainable blue economy, if implemented to a high standard. However, NBS have been largely studied for terrestrial – particularly urban – systems, with limited uptake thus far in marine and coastal areas, despite an abundance of opportunities. Here, we provide explanations for this lag and propose the following three research priorities to advance marine and coastal NBS: (1) Improve understanding of marine and coastal biodiversity-ecosystem services relationships to support NBS better designed for rebuilding system resilience and achieving desired ecological outcomes under climate change; (2) Provide scientific guidance on how and where to implement marine and coastal NBS and better coordinate strategies and projects to facilitate their design, effectiveness, and value through innovative synergistic actions; (3) Develop ways to enhance marine and coastal NBS communication, collaboration, ocean literacy and stewardship to raise awareness, co-create solutions with stakeholders, boost public and policy buy-in, and potentially drive a more sustained investment. Research effort in these three areas will help practitioners, policy-makers and society embrace NBS for managing marine and coastal ecosystems for tangible benefits to people and marine life.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation : A literature review of existing frameworks and indicatorsPublication . Halim, Firdaous; Fonseca, Catarina; O'Leary, Bethan C.; Villasante, SebastiánClimate change is generating a broad range of negative impacts worldwide, particularly on marine and coastal ecosystems (MCE) (IPCC-SROCC, 2019 and IPBES-IPCC, 2021). These impacts include coastal flooding and erosion, sea-level rise and storm surges. To adapt to these adverse effects and improve the well-being of coastal communities, engineered approaches have traditionally been used; however, there is growing recognition of the potential of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to address these impacts while enhancing biodiversity (Baustian et al., 2020 and Chausson et al., 2020). NbS are actions that aim to address societal challenges and provide socialecological benefits by harnessing ecological processes (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016). They have the potential to support climate change adaptation, for example, through storm surge attenuation, wave height reduction and flood protection; thus, enhancing ecosystem resilience and the provision of ecosystem services (i.e., improved fish stocks, biodiversity conservation, coastal tourism and recreation) (Chausson et al., 2020; Seddon et al., 2020; UNEP, 2021). […].
- Framing adaptive capacity of coastal communities: A review of the role of scientific framing in indicator-based adaptive capacity assessments in coastal social-ecological systemsPublication . Espinoza Córdova, Fabiola; Krause, Torsten; Furlan, Elisa; Allegri, Elena; O'Leary, Bethan C.; Degia, Karima; Trégarot, Ewan; Cornet, Cindy C.; de Juan, Silvia; Fonseca, Catarina; Simide, Rémy; Perez, GéraldineIn the current context of climate and anthropogenic change, assessing the adaptive capacity of coastal communities, i.e., their ability to adapt, navigate and/or recover from the impacts of change is key in coastal management and decision-making processes. Framing in adaptive capacity assessments (i.e., what is highlighted) influences how coastal communities’ adaptive capacity is perceived and understood, carrying profound ethical and political implications for governance. The significance of framing within assessments of adaptive capacity has been acknowledged, yet limited research delves into the dynamics of this process, particularly within coastal-social ecological settings. Through a systematic literature review, we address this knowledge gap by exploring how scholarly assessments frame adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems and analyzing their potential implications in coastal adaptation governance. We focus on adaptive capacity assessments using indicators, given their prominence as a frequently employed methodology by policy makers. Our results reveal that assessments are predominately framed under vulnerability frameworks, focusing on how adaptive capacity moderates the impact of climate-related variability using single-level data from individuals or households. Typically, these assessments rely on attributes related to socio-economic factors, access to assets and livelihood diversity to assess present adaptive capacity, with researchers and their paradigms playing a significant role in framing these assessments. We propose that this prevailing perspective may not support coastal communities in meeting the complex challenges they are facing. By providing this comprehensive review on the scientific framing of adaptive capacity assessments in coastal social-ecological systems, we contribute towards advancing frame-reflective adaptive capacity research.
- Marine and coastal ecosystems and climate change : a public awareness surveyPublication . Fonseca, Catarina; Andriamahefazafy, Mialy; Casal, Gema; Chaigneau, Tomas; Cornet, Cindy C.; Degia, Anna; Failler, Pierre; Ferraro, Gianluca; Furlan, Elisa; Hawkins, Julie P.; de Juan, Silvia; Krause, Torsten; Pérez, Géraldine; Roberts, Callum M.; Tregarot, Ewan; Wood, Louisa; O'Leary, Bethan C.Hundreds of millions of people worldwide directly rely on marine and coastal ecosystems for their food, livelihoods and ways of life, yet these ecosystems are subject to a variety of pressures (UNEP, 2006; Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2015; Korpinen et al., 2019). These pressures include climate change - one of the most urgent challenges societies are currently facing, with “long-lasting or irreversible” adverse consequences predicted as a result (IPCC 2018). Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems are a pre-requisite for the continuing delivery of ecosystem services, such as the provision of food, climate regulation and carbon storage. Therefore, it is critical to achieve a more sustainable management and effective protection of such valuable ecosystems. Policy makers are increasingly aware of the adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation on our coasts and oceans. As public opinion influence decision-making on the actions to take and contribute to the success of their implementation (Rasmussen et al., 2017), it is important to understand how well informed the public is about climate change impacts and solutions in marine and coastal systems. In recent years, significant efforts have been made by the scientific community to raise public awareness of climate change and the links between healthy marine and coastal ecosystems and ecosystem service provision, including their role in mitigating and adapting to climate change (Barracosa et al., 2019). However, there has been little consideration of how the public perceives the interlinkages between climate change and its effects on marine and coastal ecosystems. Instead, most efforts have addressed climate change perceptions (van Valkengoed et al., 2022) Mildenberger et al., 2019) and marine threats perceptions (Ankamah-Yeboah et al., 2020; Lotze et al., 2018), separately. In the scope of the research project on “Marine Coastal ecosystems Biodiversity and Services in a changing world” (MaCoBioS) funded by the European Commission, people’s views on climate change, the value of marine and coastal ecosystems and the threats facing they face, as well as potential management options were investigated.
- Survey data of public awareness on climate change and the value of marine and coastal ecosystemsPublication . Fonseca, Catarina; Wood, Louisa; Andriamahefazafy, Mialy; Casal, Gema; Chaigneau, Tomas; Cornet, Cindy C.; Degia, A. Karima; Failler, Pierre; Ferraro, Gianluca; Furlan, Elisa; Hawkins, Julie P.; de Juan, Silvia; Krause, Torsten; McCarthy, Tim; Pérez, Géraldine; Roberts, Callum M.; Trégarot, Ewan; O'Leary, Bethan C.The long-term provision of ocean ecosystem services depends on healthy ecosystems and effective sustainable management. Understanding public opinion about marine and coastal ecosystems is important to guide decision-making and inform specific actions. However, available data on public perceptions on the interlinked effects of climate change, human impacts and the value and management of marine and coastal ecosystems are rare. This dataset presents raw data from an online, self-administered, public awareness survey conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 which yielded 709 responses from 42 countries. The survey was released in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian) and consisted of four main parts: (1) perceptions about climate change; (2) perceptions about the value of, and threats to, coasts, oceans and their wildlife, (3) perceptions about climate change response; and (4) socio-demographic information. Participation in the survey was voluntary and all respondents provided informed consent after reading a participant information form at the beginning of the survey. Responses were anonymous unless respondents chose to provide contact information. All identifying information has been removed from the dataset. The dataset can be used to conduct quantitative analyses, especially in the area of public perceptions of the interlinkages between climate change, human impacts and options for sustainable management in the context of marine and coastal ecosystems. The dataset is provided with this article, including a copy of the survey and participant information forms in all four languages, data and the corresponding codebook.