Marine Spatial Planning on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, BC

A Collaborative Approach to Marine Spatial Planning

The Natural Capital Project (NatCap) is working with the West Coast Aquatic Management Board (WCA), a public–private partnership among government agencies and diverse local stakeholders, in its creation of spatial plans for Barkley and Clayoquot Sounds on the West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI). NatCap is working with WCA to iteratively map and analyze environmental services across realistic zoning scenarios, which is helping decision makers accommodate varied priorities for using marine resources. On WCVI our approach and tools support an open planning dialogue among government, coastal communities, First Nations, private entities, and business interests.

Stakeholder engagement is critical to understanding the use of coastal ecosystems and their value to people

NatCap's analysis of the marine environment along WCVI considers multiple stakeholder priorities. These include balancing commercial interests (e.g., shipping, mining, logging and aquaculture), developing tourism and recreation sectors, investing in renewable energy generation, as well as a cultural desire to sustain the tranquil beauty and quality of life on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

NatCap scientists developed new models for Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) software to analyze ecosystem benefits from coastal environments along WCVI and compare them across scenarios of human use. Spatially explicit outputs identify areas where diverse benefits of ecosystems are produced, and biophysical and economic valuation models quantify their service to coastal populations and other stakeholders. InVEST enhances WCA's planning discussions by offering clear metrics with which to compare trade-offs among services and minimize conflicts involving damaging uses and sensitive habitats.

Marine Spatial Planning

The Natural Capital Project has teamed-up with the West Coast Aquatic Management Board (WCA) to develop a science-based marine spatial plan that allows for the continued delivery of a suite of ecosystem services to Vancouver Island residents now and in the future. WCA and the broader marine conservation community are wrestling with how to take the appealing idea of marine spatial planning and make it practicable. The framework of ecosystem services and NatCap's metrics for connecting ecosystem well-being to human well-being are bringing stakeholders together around common goals. Together, WCA and NatCap are highlighting often under-appreciated ecosystem benefits, and allowing for the explicit examination of trade-offs between sectors to improve the health and wealth of Vancouver Island.

Preliminary Results

Trained Professionals in InVEST software: We designed InVEST models for marine environments according to the needs of our partner, West Coast Aquatic, government objectives, and the values of indigenous communities. With local planners and stakeholders in the driver's seat, InVEST outputs will inform decisions with direct impact on marine ecosystems and encourage transparency in managing resources.

Produced Multi-Scale Scenario Maps for Marine Spatial Planning: Local zoning maps provided realistic scenarios for coastal populations. For larger-scale planning questions, West Coast Aquatic is using outputs from InVEST and other tools to compare a wide range of value metrics across various management scenarios.

Published Paper on Marine Spatial Planning methods: In 2012 NatCap scientists led a collaborative paper presenting new applications of InVEST for marine environments, featuring our work in Lemmens Inlet on WCVI.

Developed InVEST Models for marine environments, including:

• Food from Fisheries
• Food from Aquaculture
• Coastal Protection
• Renewable Energy
• Aesthetic Quality
• Recreation
• Marine Carbon
• Water Quality
• Habitat Risk

News & Videos

Science and Ecosystem Services in Decision-Making - The Moore Foundation

Marine Planning on the West Coast of Vancouver Island

West Coast Assessment - Introduction

Stanford researchers bring new marine tool to West Coast

Westerly News January 13th, 2011

Publications

Marine InVEST Brochure featuring our work on the West Coast of Vancouver Island

Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

Choong-Ki Kim, Jodie E. Toft, Michael Papenfus, Gregory Verutes, Anne D. Guerry, Marry H. Ruckelshaus, Katie K. Arkema, Gregory Guannel, Spencer A. Wood, Joanna R. Bernhardt, Heather Tallis, Mark L. Plummer, Benjamin S. Halpern, Malin L. Pinsky, Michael W. Beck, Francis Chan, Kai M. A. Chan, Phil S. Levin, Stephen Polasky

PLoS ONE 7(11), 2012

Modeling benefits from nature: using ecosystem services to inform coastal and marine spatial planning

Anne D. Guerry, Mary H. Ruckelshaus, Katie K. Arkema, Joey R. Bernhardt, Gregory Guannel, Choong-Ki Kim, Matthew Marsik, Michael Papenfus, Jodie E. Toft, Gregory Verutes, Spencer A. Wood, Michael Beck, Francis Chan, Kai M.A. Chan, Guy Gelfenbaum, Barry D. Gold, Benjamin S. Halpern, William B. Labiosa, Sarah E. Lester, Phil S. Levin, Melanie McField, Malin L. Pinsky, Mark Plummer, Stephen Polasky, Peter Ruggiero, David A. Sutherland, Heather Tallis, Andrew Day & Jennifer Spencer

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management (January 2012)

Links

West Coast Aquatic Management Board

Contact

Spencer Wood, Ph.D.

Marine Ecologist

woodsp@stanford.edu