2.3.2.1 Triage sequence 1.1: For which purposes is a valuation of marine ecosystem services needed in the area?

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2 3 2 Triage 1 TRIAGE SEQUENCE 1
Preliminary delimitation of the scope of the ecosystem services assessment in relation to its general aims

Question 1
For which purposes is a valuation of marine ecosystem services needed in the area?

This first question relates to the operational needs of the stakeholders who envisage using a marine ecosystem services assessment. Examples of possible aims of the ecosystem services valuation include:

to improve and integrate knowledge
to provide initial diagnosis for marine management
to raise awareness of particular issues or of the value of the marine environment more generally
to explore possible changes in the ecosystems or human pressure
to design a new marine and coastal policy
to compare operational management options, to facilitate trade-offs
to increase welfare of relevant populations.

Example

A first round dedicated to a preliminary implementation of the triage process on the three French sites was carried out during a two days session in June 2013 in the VALMER project, with a core group of managers and experts in ecology and economics for each case study.

2 3 Triage 1 1 Table: Example of the implementation of the question 1 results in 6 different sites, in France and in UK (VALMER project, 2013). The objectives have been defined during workshops involving ecosystem services experts and site managers.

The session was organized as follows:

At first, the triage process was briefly presented
Participants chose the questions of the triage process it would be possible to address at this stage
The answers to the questions were adopted following a deliberative process

Following the presentation of the triage process, and according to time constraints, it was decided to focus on Sequence 1, question 1 (purposes of the marine ecosystem services valuation in the area) and question 2 (most important policy issues in relation to marine ecosystem services in the area) and to Sequence 2, question 1 (what are the potential for the status or value of the ecological functions and services to change).

Purposes of the valuation of marine ecosystem services in the French study sites
The three French study sites have reached different stages of their management process:

The Golfe Normand-Breton study site is at an early stage of the management process as consultations of the stakeholders are still on going in the prospect of creating a Marine Park in the area.

The Parc Naturel Marin d’Iroise study site is at a very advanced stage as the Marine Park was created in 2007 and its management plan was adopted in 2010; it includes access rules for kelp harvesting and fishing which should evolve towards a higher protection level.

The Golfe du Morbihan study site is at an intermediary stage with regards to marine management: the management body (SIAGM, “Syndicat Intercommunal d’Aménagement du golfe du Morbihan”) is in charge of an area which encompasses 38 municipalities and aims to be extended at sea where a Natura 2000 area for seagrass beds has already been defined. The Golfe became a Natural Park (Parc Naturel Régional du Golfe du Morbihan) in october 2014, at the end of the VALMER project.

The variety of stages of development of the marine ecosystem management processes leads to different purposes for ecosystem services valuation (see table above).

Each study site tried to sort the main purpose (scored 1), secondary purposes (scored 2) and complementary purposes (scored 3).

In the Parc Naturel de la Mer d’Iroise study site, the assessment of ecosystem services provided by kelp habitats will at first be used for comparing management options; however this comparison of management options will necessitate improved knowledge on the variety of services delivered by kelps, while knowledge improvement of ecosystem services is expected to facilitate trade-offs when the most protective management measures will be envisaged.

The Golfe Normand-Breton study site being in a preliminary phase as regards marine ecosystems management, the assessment of ecosystem services should contribute to two equally important purposes: the initial diagnosis of the area, which should be based on further knowledge integration and is expected to contribute to awareness raising in support of a Marine Natural Park creation, and the anticipation of future changes is expected to contribute to the definition of the main objectives of this future Park, while facilitating trade-offs as regards these local marine policy.

In the Golfe du Morbihan, the ecosystem services assessment will be used for raising awareness regarding the role of seagrass beds in the local social-ecological system, based on improved and more integrated knowledge regarding ecosystem services delivered by seagrass in the prospect of designing future management options which will necessitate new trade-offs among stakeholders.

Example