species populations for improved resilience, improved adaptive capacity of the forest reproductive material, deciphering the buffering capacities of tree species and genetic diversity to climate change;
• Developing better risk assessment, risk management methods and improved risk sharing instruments to integrate risk and other environmental and economic changes into forest management (climate change, invasive species, exurban sprawl, fires, gales, floods, pest and disease outbreaks, uncertainties regarding the economic value and abrupt changes in the market, etc.); for example, assessing the vulnerability of various management strategies in regard to the different risks (FTP, 2007);
• Monitoring genetic diversity of natural forest populations to elaborate methods to keep genetic integrity during reforestation and other forest management events; selecting areas for forest genetic reserves (in situ preservation); and
• Better and more exhaustive mapping of forest resources in terms of quantity and quality through a wider use of present technologies (GIS, remote sensing, ground laser technique, etc.) as well as the use of satellite imagery and modeling as a decision support tool in forest planning and management.
The future of successful forest management rests on a revision of forestry concepts in the light of climate, invasive species and other environmental changes, a recognition of new concepts of sustainability in which risk management and forest resilience are prioritized and the encouragement of an improved dialogue among scientists, managers and the public that transcends national boundaries.
6.2.9 Developing sustainable systems for fisheries and aquaculture
6.2.9.1 Coastal capture fisheries in the NAE region
With the collapse of many fisheries and the expansion of fishing efforts, improving the sustainability of coastal capture fisheries and increasing their productivity have become acute problems (Pauly et al., 2002, 2003, 2005; Garcia and Grainger, 2005). Sustainability can be achieved by: (1) broadening the focus to include the entire food web and habitats that support the target species; (2) efficient management systems that take into account the ecosystem and (FAO, 2003); and (3) better fishing technologies that help in preventing overexploitation of all target species (De Alessi, 2003; EC, 2003). Productivity on the other hand can be increased by adopting new processing methods that add value to the current system, such as creating markets for by-catch (Christensenetal., 2003).
In the following text, options for research and technological development in the area of coastal fisheries have been explored within the different compartments of the system namely: sustainable marine ecosystem management, fishing technologies and fish processing. These compartments have various interactions among them. Only an integrated vision of the entire system and its different compartments as a whole would allow a fuller understanding of the functioning of the system. |
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Develop an ecosystems approach for a sustainable coastal marine ecosystem management
Up to now, most research has concentrated on the consequences of fishing activities on the target fish stocks. Future research is increasingly taking into account the social, economic and ecological consequences of fisheries not just at the local but also at a global level (Pauly, 2005). More research on the following may be useful to achieve this:
• Further analyze the impacts of coastal fishing drag-net methods that disturb the entire benthic community and harvest entire food webs. These methods disrupt entire communities and irreversibly alter benthic habitats, changing the reproductive potential of the target species and associated by-catch (Francis et al., 2007);
• Further develop the construction of mathematical models for complex systems that help understand and predict ecosystems behavior, by multidisciplinary approaches and considering biological, ecological, economic and social driving forces (Dame & Christian, 2007). Such models and toolboxes would facilitate the study of the different effects of fisheries management, regulation and policy;
• Collect long term observation data: identify a representative sample of long term observatories to collect data that can be used for the constitution of reliable and continuous series data (biological, economic and social) for use in present and future research, namely for the validation and adjustments of the above mentioned models; this activity exists but is presently inadequate because marine resources are difficult to access and not well known;
• Develop tools and indicators: appropriate tools and indicators that take into account an ecosystem as a whole reflecting resource health including its economic and social components as well as integrate global phenomena such as climate change do not yet exist and will be useful now and in the future;
• Develop experimental research on consequences of human activity on wild fish: effects of fishing and pollution on growth and reproduction;
• Develop specific multidisciplinary research on marine ecosystems: including ecological engineering, "ecological therapy" (how to cure, restore an ecosystem), environmental economy and sociology; and
• Evaluate the effect of enforcement of territorial waters (or lack thereof) on the sustainability of fisheries. Combating illegal fishing has been identified as a crucial element (COFI, 2007).
All the above mentioned research activities will require an integrated global research effort, coupled with stronger enforcement measures throughout NAE. Focusing on selective fishing and sustainable harvest levels can prevent the over-exploitation of all species. By concentrating research efforts on overcoming the barriers mentioned below it may be possible to adapt "selective" adaptation levels to the renewal capacity of fish stocks:
• Develop innovative methods for direct evaluation of fish stocks, e.g., acoustics, buoys, AUV (autonomous underwater vehicles);
• Promote selective fishing that takes into account the |