Environmental Management for Sustainability

Effective science communicators are in short supply during a time of unprecedented environmental challenges. As policy-makers, businesses, and communities seek solutions, the need for science communication skills will only grow. In this course, you will not only learn how to identify the tools of science communication, but will be able critique, refine, and develop them.

Any leader understands that data is the underpinning of competent decision-making. Complex systems require that data be presented in a clear and accessible format. You will learn to construct easy-to-interpret data visualizations that will enable you to build consensus and facilitate decisions across a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

Data tells us a story. Articulating and messaging this data-driven narrative to communicate the latest research is a key skill for any manager. You will learn to use proven techniques to develop such narratives so that you can effectively communicate complex data-sets to any audience.

Cogent science communication requires the effective integration of a captivating and accessible narrative with appealing multimedia data visualizations. These two new skills are the foundation for telling a larger story. Compelling “stories” are a proven approach to explain complex problems, involve the target audience, and motivate diverse stakeholders to work toward change.

Imagine if you had the tools that would galvanize volunteers to protect their local river, inspire politicians to fund restoration activities, or stimulate engineers to devise ways to reduce pollution. Socio-environmental report cards synthesize data from scientists and volunteers and convert it into an image-rich format that is easily accessible to a wide stakeholder audience.

Report card grades also tap into a powerful human motivator: peer pressure. Civic leaders and community members can compare their grades with their neighbors, and we have learned that these comparisons lead to a desire for better environmental outcomes in their own backyard.

For nearly two decades, our team has worked with local river protection groups to develop comprehensive assessments of iconic ecosystems like the Chesapeake Bay (United States of America) and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia). These socio-environmental report cards have been used to catalyze improvements in ecosystem health, motive cooperative problem-solving, guide restoration efforts, and stimulate relevant research.

We can no longer be content to just study environmental or natural resource-related problems. The challenges and negative environmental impacts of climate change and other myriad environmental management issues are upon us. We need to use science to inspire real change. We’ll show you how.

Case studies are the best means to analyze real world problems and assess viability of proposed solutions. We will explore a variety of ecosystems and determine how effectively they are managed given the specific challenges of each locale.

We will be analyzing how monitoring, modeling, research and resource management approaches are scaled across multiple dimensions such as size, population, complexity, and maturity gradients. For instance, Chesapeake Bay, located in the United States largely within the states of Maryland and Virginia, is the best-studied estuary in the world. Since European settlement, contravening forces (land use, eutrophication via phosphorus and nitrogen point and nonpoint sources, sediment runoff, and wetland degradation to name a few) have impacted the entire watershed of this highly productive ecosystem which falls under the jurisdiction of six different state governments and the local government of Washington DC. A comprehensive management approach involving the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies working under the umbrella of the Chesapeake Bay Program headquartered in Annapolis, MD, has resulted in measurable improvements in water quality. Lessons learned from the restoration efforts of the Bay have applications well beyond fisheries, agriculture, and conservation. Other large complex systems that we will be discussing are the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the implications of the 2010 Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the transnational management of the Baltic Sea.

We will also explore innovative stakeholder-driven approaches, such as COAST Card (Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation) that integrates socio-environmental report cards, social network analysis, and system dynamic models. Its development in iconic locations (Chesapeake Bay (US), Manila Bay (Philippines), Tokyo Bay and Ishigaki Island (Japan) and the Goa Coast of India) present both shared and unique challenges for managing coupled human and natural systems. Addressing these linkages between human health and environmental quality and the required trade-offs a management team must make is a key component of best management practice for our natural resources.

Finally, we will discuss the implications of climate change science and how it can influence socio-environmental management. Each case study will present unique solutions to address ecosystem stress. Scalability of management approaches across a variety of ecosystems including those of differing population densities, areas, complexities, and maturities will be discussed.

Upon completion, you will have the practical tools to develop effective management solutions for a variety of ecosystem and sustainability challenges.