1. Introduction & Objectives

The objective of the Marine & Coastal Ecosystems (MCES) Working Group (WG) is to provide researchers, decision-makers and practitioners a platform to exchange information, and to discuss their ideas and experiences on the assessment of ecosystem services. The working group aims to make information concerning MCES (either produced by the WG members or the global community of research and practice) available to a wider community of users, thus raising the profile of these important systems.

Some of the group’s initial research questions are:

• How to bridge the gap between the MCES communities of knowledge, policy and practice?
• How can MCES assessments really make a difference in conservation decision-making? In particular:
  • In which ways has it been used and with what impacts on ES management and biodiversity conservation?
  • What are the conditions or factors that enable the use and subsequent impact of such information in decision-making?
  • How to monitor and evaluate the use and impact of MCES assessment in decision-making?
• What are the most suitable methods and tools to map and assess MCES? What are the requirements behind and the vision for future research?
• What kind of indicators should be used for MCES assessments?

The group focuses on marine and coastal ecosystems as a whole, but also accounts for the specificities of the different marine and coastal ecosystem types (e.g. coral reefs, mangroves, coastal wetlands). Given the heterogeneity of these systems across the globe, the group also accounts for the regional specificities, thus considering the different marine regions (e.g. Mediterranean, South Pacific).

The BWG 1 – Marine & Coastal Systems has created the following sub-working groups:

• 1A – Open Oceans
• 1B – Coral Reefs
• 1C – Coastal Systems
• 1D – Coastal Wetlands

2. Lead Team & Members

• Evangelia Drakou (co-Chair), University of Twente, NL
• Ana Ruiz-Frau (co-Chair), Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA), Department of Fish Ecology, Spain
• Nicky Beaumont (support), Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
• Rebecca Koss (support), Deakin University, Australia
• Jean-Baptise Marre (regional representative for the South Pacific), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), New Caledonia

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Lead team, please contact the current lead team members.

3. More Information

For more information about this working group click on one of the following links:

• Activities & Outputs
• Related Networks & Projects