Science Frameworks for EBM
Project Summary
We will
develop a modeling and data integration framework for EBM and apply that
framework to a case study from coastal California. By bringing experts in the modeling of
natural and human systems together with policy specialists, the working group
will develop a policy relevant modeling approach that includes the dynamics of
social, biophysical and economic components of the ecosystem and critical
feedbacks among them, and an explicit risk assessment component. Then, in collaboration with scientists and
managers knowledgeable about the coastal California system, we
will develop a detailed case study using this modeling approach as a
basis. Key questions about how to cope
with uncertainty, how to define ecosystem boundaries, and what constitute
appropriate and effective indicators of ecosystem health and performance, will
be addressed through the case study. The result will be a tool that scientists
and policy makers use to develop an ecosystem-based approach to management of
this system, and by extension others.