Resume

• 1983

  Ph.D.

  Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism

  Texas A&M University

• 1981

  MS

  Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism

  Colorado State University

• 1976

  BS

  Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism

  Michigan State University

• Sarah Young

  Shoreline change has serious implications for coastal communities and policymakers at\nall levels of government. The purpose of this study was to examine existing knowledge\non the social effects of erosion and accretion along the North Atlantic Coast. Initially

  a\ncomprehensive annotated bibliography of peer-reviewed literature was undertaken from\nwhich trends and themes were identified. A gap analysis matrix was developed using\nsocial variables and measurable parameters. Findings showed that overall

  the quantity

  \nbreadth

  and depth of literature were limited

  and neglected the interdisciplinary\nperspective necessary to understand the social implications of shoreline change.

  The Human Dimension of Changing Shorelines Along the U.S. North Atlantic Coast

  Coastal management is driven by the values and priorities of society as expressed through social

  political

  and economic systems. Diverse resource management goals reflect what society wants from its surrounding environments as presented in enabling legislation and other resource laws. Today

  coastal management encompasses decisions of what to regulate

  what enterprises and initiatives to promote

  and which ecosystem services are most important to citizens and businesses. Data based on the natural or physical sciences are important

  but are just one input into this socially driven

  value-based process. This paper offers an insight into why an ecosystem service approach using human dimensions as the major driver is becoming an increasing focus of coastal resource management.

  The Human Dimensions of Coastal Ecosystem Services: Management for Social Values

  Coastal resource management revolves around defining the dynamic between people and the marine and coastal resources they use and depend upon for a large range of goods and services. The process of defining that dynamic is iterative and must account not only for changing natural resource conditions but also for changing social conditions. Decision-making therefore happens within a context of a social system that includes differing levels of capacity

  commitment

  economics

  political mandates and pressures

  and cultural and traditional frameworks. The aim of this paper is to introduce a hierarchical approach in which the large number of variables needed to measure the complex

  numerous and abstract social concepts used to evaluate the delivery of ecosystem services can be aggregated into smaller sets of indicators

  which can ultimately be aggregated into a single report card. These variables and indicators can identify and describe non-economic human dimensions societal benefits derived as ecosystem services that are readily collected

  that can identify changes over time

  and are appropriate to specific coastal regions. The identified indicators would capture changes in the delivery of overall ecosystem services impacted by

  or that will impact

  changes in particular sets of environmental characteristics that are valued by society at large.

  Human Dimensions Indicators of Coastal Ecosystem Services: A Hierarchical Perspective.

  Christopher Kelble

  Peter Ortner

  Enabling ecosystem-based management requires

  among other things

  reaching a scientifically based consensus with respect to the key characteristics of a sustainable ecosystem capable of supporting those levels of key ecosystem services desired by society. To determine and convey whether an ecosystem is in fact approaching this goal implies developing indicators that capture the status of both the natural and societal aspects of the system. That said

  developing consistent and useful indicators for both societal and natural system aspects of the ecosystem requires both resolving disparate perspectives and inconsistent terminology between human dimensions and natural system scientists and keeping the number of indicators manageably few

  without oversimplifying a highly complex ecosystem. To accomplish this we employed a “recursive relationship” approach that defined (and redefined) variables

  indicators

  and indices along a sliding hierarchy from measurable parameters to highly aggregated indices. To illustrate this approach it is applied herein to both a human dimensions index (recreational quality)

  and a natural sciences index (water column). This “recursive relationship” approach facilitated development of a parsimonious set of high-level indices that together constitute an ecosystem report card integrating natural system status and related societal dimensions from an ecosystem services perspective

  while maintaining all of the information at lower levels necessary to inform specific management decisions.

  Developing integrated ecosystem indices

  David

  East Carolina University

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  Institute for Coastal Science and Policy

  Professor

  East Carolina University

  University of Massachusetts Amherst