Do we have the ecosystem-based science to manage human activities?

Presented by: Roland Cormier and Michael Elliott of International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists (IECS) Date/Time: Thursday, April 23, at 10 am US EDT/7 am US PDT/2 pm UTC/3 pm BST/4 pm CEST Description: There is long history of multi-disciplinary research dedicated to Ecosystem-based Approaches (EBA) for environmental policies and management plans – these combine to create Ecosystem-based Management (EBM). Research provides valuable insights into environmental impacts and their effects on biodiversity through ecosystem status overviews, impact assessments, and environmental quality reports generated from large data sets and models using conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative methods. Since policies establish the reasons for action and management outlines the priorities to be addressed, it is ultimately technical measures (Ecosystem-based Technical Measures, EBTM) that specify how managers of human activities can best reduce pressures on ecosystems. An applied science approach – Ecosystem-based Science (EBS) – is needed to inform the reliability and effectiveness of such technical measures. This talk will present this EBA-EBM-EBTM-EBS continuum and build on a previous talk given last year on recent advances in environmental science for management (see OCTO webinar July 2025 https://octogroup.org/recent-developm.... Most initiatives and examples presented will be related to marine environments, but some from other aquatic environments will also be used. Hosted by: OCTO