Earth observation and socio-economic data visualisation in support of marine governance and future marine economic prosperity and health
Lead Research Organisation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Department Name: Plymouth Marine Lab
Abstract
Societies rely fundamentally on the natural environment and the ecosystem services it provides to fulfil economic and social goals including job generation and maintenance of cultural links with healthy environments. Earth observation (EO) combined with socio-economic data can help better inform planning to optimise the sustainable use of the natural environment for economic growth and conservation efforts. Use of socio-economic analysis can also ensure that analysis at different spatial scales can be performed addressing distributional, resilience and vulnerability issues at community level.
Marine spatial plans are being used to inform decisions of where to locate and co-locate various economic and conservation activities in the marine environment. However, they are currently compiled in isolation of EO data which could provide critical temporal and spatial information of, for example, water quality, chlorophyll concentration, presence of harmful algal blooms (HAB), sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean fronts. These data could be used, alongside other satellite data, including the monitoring of fishing vessels and shipping movements, to: evaluate whether current activities are most efficiently located from an environmental perspective; identify potential areas for further economic development in marine industries, such as power generation, aquaculture, and tourism, and; improve identification of areas for the protection of outstanding marine quality and designation of marine reserves.
Social science can then be used to translate these development options into economic (e.g. estimation of job creation, revenue generation, distribution of benefits within coastal communities, level of diversification of industries) and social (e.g. highlighting importance of sense of place, cultural identity, social cohesion) impacts to assist in the decisions of which development options to pursue. These outputs will provide information to support evidence-based governance at the national and local levels as well as aiding stakeholder participation in decisions.
Marine spatial plans are being used to inform decisions of where to locate and co-locate various economic and conservation activities in the marine environment. However, they are currently compiled in isolation of EO data which could provide critical temporal and spatial information of, for example, water quality, chlorophyll concentration, presence of harmful algal blooms (HAB), sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean fronts. These data could be used, alongside other satellite data, including the monitoring of fishing vessels and shipping movements, to: evaluate whether current activities are most efficiently located from an environmental perspective; identify potential areas for further economic development in marine industries, such as power generation, aquaculture, and tourism, and; improve identification of areas for the protection of outstanding marine quality and designation of marine reserves.
Social science can then be used to translate these development options into economic (e.g. estimation of job creation, revenue generation, distribution of benefits within coastal communities, level of diversification of industries) and social (e.g. highlighting importance of sense of place, cultural identity, social cohesion) impacts to assist in the decisions of which development options to pursue. These outputs will provide information to support evidence-based governance at the national and local levels as well as aiding stakeholder participation in decisions.
Planned Impact
The applicant will engage with a range of stakeholders for the whole duration of the project. This will be accomplished by interviews to explore end-user preferences for the types of datasets being collated and the socio-economic assessments proposed. A workshop will also be held to showcase the visualisation tool that will be modified to allow end-users to access the Earth observation and socio-economic data sets for their individual uses. Participants in both the interviews and the workshop will be drawn from government departments, executive non-departmental public bodies, businesses, industry representatives and conservation bodies who have an interest in mariculture, coastal tourism, offshore renewable energy, marine planning and marine conservation.
The project aims to foster the use of Earth observation and socio-economic data in decision making for marine planning, regulating and day-to-day operational decisions to ensure sustainable blue growth. In this respect it hopes to identify new applications of these data sets and satellite services for end-users to assist in job generation and maintenance, reduced operational costs, the provision of a healthy natural environment, and more equable distribution of wealth.
The project aims to foster the use of Earth observation and socio-economic data in decision making for marine planning, regulating and day-to-day operational decisions to ensure sustainable blue growth. In this respect it hopes to identify new applications of these data sets and satellite services for end-users to assist in job generation and maintenance, reduced operational costs, the provision of a healthy natural environment, and more equable distribution of wealth.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Eleni Papathanasopoulou (Principal Investigator) |
| Description | This knowledge exchange (KE) fellowship had a number of aims including: integrating Earth observation (EO) and socio-economic databases; providing an interactive web-based visualisation tool (http://marineprosperity.com/) to explore the different data sets; showcasing the tools ability to support analyses of UK inshore and offshore aquaculture. In fulfilling these objectives I conducted a number of interviews with a range of stakeholders who had relevant expertise, knowledge of data and need for analyses. The stakeholders included: aquaculture farmers, social scientists, offshore renewable businesses, offshore oil & gas decommissioning networks and the nature conservation sector. The web-based, interactive visualising tool has been used extensively to facilitate discussions of alternative analyses and highlighting data gaps. The tool was used in dedicated workshops where aquaculture representatives, recreational activities representatives, sociologists, environmental economists, funding representatives and Earth observation scientists were invited to explore the databases. Exploration of the data with stakeholders highlighted an number of opportunities. For example, aquaculture farmers identified the added value of using EO chlorophyll concentration data alongside other important variables to inform where new farms could be located. The social scientist recognised the potential of combining EO and socio-economic data to better inform marine spatial planning options and support sustainable coastal communities. For example, one social scientist identified the opportunity to explore people's perception of the marine environment by overlaying suspended particulate matter (SPM) data with water quality information. Integrating EO, socio-economic and other environmental data was also seen as advantageous by the conservation sector which would help to provide further understanding of the reasons behind the movement and state of particular species. Examples of possible conservation applications included correlating chlorophyll concentration and sea surface temperature (SST) with basking shark and jellyfish movements. The offshore renewable sector also identified a number of EO applications for their industry including monitoring the environmental impacts of offshore wind farms (OWF) before and after construction. The workshops were also positive in general by facilitating discussions, creating the opportunity for attendees to network and contributed to increasing knowledge. The potential for using offshore decommissioned oil & gas platforms for aquaculture farms was explored through one-to-one interviews and workshops. Across practitioners and experts from a range of backgrounds, it was concluded that the risk and cost of moving offshore is a barrier. As an outcome of the discussions, it was queried whether future offshore oil & gas platforms should not be built for decommissioning but for repurposing. Earth observation data can potentially provide relevant information over a range of stakeholders. However, one resounding comment from all stakeholders is that an understanding of what the images are actually presenting is required. As questioned by a number of stakeholders, does high chlorophyll concentration represent productive waters or could it also be showing the more damaging state of eutrophication. Similarly with SPM plumes around the foundations of offshore wind turbines, a clearer understanding of whether these are caused by local sediment movement or whether the sediment has been transported naturally from somewhere else will have varying implications. There is also the challenge of disparate temporal and spatial resolution between EO and socio-economic datasets. Satellite and associated Earth observation data are becoming ever more sophisticated in the frequency of images produced (e.g. 1 day revisits) and high resolutions such as 10m from the new Sentinel 2A satellite. This is quite clearly at odds with the data collected by social scientists which range between quarterly and yearly data points and often at aggregation levels which span 1,500 people to national scales of 64 million people. These challenges also provide opportunities as new areas of research to be explored and new metrics to be developed. Collaborating with international partners is one way to overcome these shortfalls and explore alternative perspectives. Interviews and a workshop held in South Africa as part of the fellowship highlighted the same demand for data that provides a holistic assessment of alternative options for growing its aquaculture sector. South Africa's focus on freshwater and on-land aquaculture requires different refinements to the data and its application to its Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Exploitation Route | The knowledge exchange fellowship, through its interviews and workshops with stakeholders, demonstrated how Earth observation (EO), economic and social data can be used separately, as well as combined, to inform policy and business decisions as well as contribute to innovative, interdisciplinary research. The development of the web-based interactive tool allows stakeholders to easily access data to further explore applications and research possibilities. As noted above, there are real and immediate uses of the data by aquaculture farmers to increase their understanding of changes in the local and regional waters; nature conservationists can map changes in habitats and ecosystem services to better target their efforts; social scientists' could enhance their research from a spatial perspective; while offshore oil & gas decommissioning agents could work towards repurposing offshore platforms. Further engagement activities, including publications in trade magazines, newsletters, blogs and peer-reviewed journals, are being pursued to further encourage the uptake of the data, use of the visualisation tool and approaches. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://marineprosperity.com/ |
| Description | The aim of the knowledge exchange fellowship was to introduce and demonstrate how the integration of Earth observation (EO) and socio-economic data can be used by different end-users in the inshore and offshore aquaculture sector. Engagements conducted during the knowledge exchange fellowship encouraged learning by stakeholders in understanding the different datasets and how they could be used for stakeholders' purposes. This learning benefit and increase in knowledge was clearly seen in participants at an individual level at a project workshop held in November 2015 measured using pre- and post-workshop questionnaires. Two other workshops in Norwich (2016) and Poole (2017) highlighted the willingness of participants to work across sectors to tackle problems in the aquaculture sectors such as (i) moving aquaculture farms offshore and (ii) the socio-economic impacts associated with aquaculture. These workshops encouraged interdisciplinary and collaborative networks to form which are further strengthening the UK's capacity and capability to solve problems from a holistic ecosystem approach. Participants of the workshops will be continuing to work together to produce two articles for publication summarising the insights of the discussions and published for a wider audience. Integration of EO and socio-economic data and information for the aquaculture sector can help increase the effectiveness of public services and enhance quality of life. A successful workshop in South Africa brought together end-users across the aquaculture business and government departments responsible for aquaculture growth. Discussion was facilitated to enable each end-user to identify the type of information derived from EO and socio-economic data that would be useful to them. Included were data to help (i) policy departments' become more effective in regulating and monitoring the South African aquaculture sector and (ii) aquaculture businesses to reduce and manage risk by providing early warning systems of, for instance, harmful algal blooms. The socio-economic context of a sustainable aquaculture sector is also necessary in attaining targets under the Sustainable Development Goals for South Africa and this will need to be further developed into the future. The work carried out in South Africa has also increased my own knowledge by providing me with insight and access to an alternative context and priorities which requires data to be presented differently to address specific issues. The KE fellowship was also used as a springboard for another project proposal that was successfully funded by the UK Space Agency SBRI-SSGP which explored how Earth observation data could be used by the Department of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for marine environmental monitoring and Natural Capital Accounting. This required the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) team, led by me, to meet with members across DEFRA who were engaged with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and Natural Capital Accounting. We used the meetings to explore how the data could be used by the different teams within DEFRA and how they could be integrated into current government systems. An end-of-project workshop was held with our main DEFRA contacts and other invited experts to further explore the potential of the data being used and methods. Based on this work, I and another colleague (Shubha Sathyendranath) were invited and presented our approaches in an EU EEA Marine Ecosystem Accounts workshop held in Paris 2016. We recently applied for and successfully received further funding (Copernicus C3S) which will continue to build on this DEFRA collaboration, specifically by linking Earth observation and modelled data to Natural Capital Accounting. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Energy,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |
| Description | Copernicus Climate Change Services |
| Amount | € 520,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 11/2017 |
| End | 04/2018 |
| Description | Space for Smarter Government |
| Amount | £79,802 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SBRI-SSGP Phase 1-61415-454196 |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | A stand at the Association for Scottish Shellfish Growers annual conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Association for Scottish Shellfish Growers (ASSG) held their annual conference with participation from practitioners, businesses, policy makers, local authorities and executive bodies. There was an estimated 100 participants. I had a stand where I projected a looped presentation of the satellite images onto a screen showing how these images could be used to to inform operational and policy decisions for inshore aquaculture farms. I talked with a number of individual including aquaculture farmers, Crown Estate and Marine Scotland representatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://assg.org.uk/#/conference-2015/4579131315 |
| Description | A stand at the Renewable Futures and Green Energy Awards event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Renewable Energy and Green Futures Awards events attracts an number of participants from business, local community groups, policy makers, conservation groups. I had a stand at the event with a looped presentation projected onto a screen showing how satellite information could be used for offshore wind farm monitoring. A number of businesses approached the stand to speak about the potential of satellite data for monitoring environmental impacts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.regensw.co.uk/renewable-futures-and-green-energy-awards/ |
| Description | Aquaculture Europe presentation and workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presented the integration of Earth observation and socio-economic data to help identify potential offshore mariculture sites. After the presentation, discussion was had as to the viability of using decommissioned offshore structures for aquaculture use. A number of licence, economic and safety issues were raised and further discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/events/2016/1609-aquaculture-europe-food-for-thought/ |
| Description | Attendance at Aquaculture Common Issues Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Aquaculture Common Issues Group brings together aquaculture farmers, policy makers, researchers and funding bodies to discuss current issues and possible solutions. Particular focus of this particular meeting was the presentation and discussion of a report on the social and economic value of aquaculture in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The report was commissioned by Seafish and undertaken by Hambrey Consulting. Contacts for future interviews and workshops were made in light of the discussions and its link to the KE fellowship. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Attendance at Aquaculture UK conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I attended the Aquaculture UK conference and spoke with a number of participants to gauge their thoughts of the potential of offshore aquaculture in the UK. I also attended a number of talks which were promoting the use of Earth observation science and data as early warning systems for harmful algal blooms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://scottishaquaculture.com/events/aquaculture-uk-2016/ |
| Description | Attended MASTS workshop on decommissioning North Sea oil & gas plaftforms |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Engaged with participants of workshop to gain insight into the potential of offshore oil & gas structures to be used for aquaculture. Sourced and recorded potential participants for the upcoming workshops to be held as part of the knowledge exchange fellowship. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.masts.ac.uk/annual-science-meeting/2016-workshops/ |
| Description | Centre of Excellence Satellite Applications Networking event workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Hosted a workshop to brainstorm the potential use of remote sensing technology and data to assist the aquaculture sector. Identified potential future uses and discussed if these technologies were fit-for-purpose by aquaculture practitioners and how to encourage uptake. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Flash presenation at the Satellite Application Catapults Centres of Excellence networking event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A flash presentation was given to Centre of Excellence teams and other knowledge exchange fellows. Discussion were had of how the tool could be used and applied to other applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Flash presentation at the Unlocking Aquaculture Innovation through Collaboration event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This BBSRC-NERC supported event brought together participants from a number of stakeholder groups including practitioners, academic researchers, businesses, policy advisors. I gave a flash presentation on how satellite and socio-economic information can be combined visually and how this can be used to inform socio-economic impact assessments. A number of individuals approached me after the presentation to discuss how this could be used and developed in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/innovation/collaboration/collaborative-programmes/uk-aquaculture-initiative/ |
| Description | Interviews in Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Eleven one-to-one interviews were conducted with the specific aim to understand the potential of offshore oil & gas platforms due for decommissioning to be potential future aquaculture sites. The interviews were also used to introduce Earth observation and additional information in quantifying the potential of aquaculture farms moving offshore. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Interviews in South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Nine one-to-one interviews were conducted to gain insight into South Africa's aquaculture sector and potential growth. Discussion and presentation of Earth observation data and use of socio-economic information to identify potential aquaculture sites were discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Interviews in Wales |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Seven one-to-one interviews with researchers, policy makers and service providers in the aquaculture sector in Wales to explore the potential of expansion of the Welsh aquaculture sector into the future and the potential for offshore aquaculture. Exchange of knowledge with interviewees about the potential of Earth observation and socio-economic data for identifying potential aquaculture sites were discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Interviews with Aquaculture sector in Northern Ireland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seven one-to-one interviews with seven professional in Northern Ireland was carried out. The aim of the interviews was to establish current aquaculture activities in Northern Ireland and the potential for the sector to grow in the future. Discussions as to the usefulness of Earth observation and socio-economic data was discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Inteviews in England |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Eleven one-to-one interviews were held to gauge the current state of aquaculture in East of England and potential for growth into the future. Co-location with offshore infrastructure was discussed and the economic viability of these ventures were further investigated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | M-KEN newsletter article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A short article was written for the Marine Knowledge Exchange Network (M-KEN) in response to an invitation from one of the participants of the Offshore mariculture workshop held in Norwich. A brief summary of the insights from the workshop was provided and linked to a future M-KEN event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.uea.ac.uk/mken/home |
| Description | Offshore Mariculture Norwick Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Ten participants attended a workshop that focuse on the potential of offshore oil & gas platforms to be used a future aquaculture sites. Issues arising as to the quality of water, on-going maintenance of offshore structure, responsibility for removal of offshore structure as end-of-life and potential for using remote sensing technologies were discussed. A paper summarising issues and identifying future research areas were discussed and agreement of participants to co-author were given. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Offshore aquaculture farm visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Site visit to the Offshore Shellfish farm in Lyme Bay with proprietor. Spent time discussing how farm is managed and the potential for Earth observation data to help manage the farm more efficiently. Gained insight into additional information that would be useful including socio-economic impacts to promote both farmed product and support of community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.offshoreshellfish.com/ |
| Description | Presentation at Offshore Mariculture Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation was given at the international Offshore Mariculture conference showing how Earth observation data and other GIS and socio-economic data can be combined to identify waters around the UK with the potential for hosting offshore aquaculture farms. Particular focus was given to areas of the North Sea where future decommissioned oil & gas platforms exist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.offshoremariculture.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/15997/OMC-2016-programme.pdf |
| Description | Presentation at the UK Fisheries Economist Network Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The webpage (http://marineprosperity.com) developed as part of the Knowledge Exchange fellowship was presented at the UK Fisheries Economist Network biannual meeting. The aim was to highlight the potential of combining satellite and socio-economic data for marine planning and implications for fisheries. The presentation was followed by a round table discussion of the potential of the visualisation tool to collate further information and how this would be analysed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://marineprosperity.com |
| Description | Presentation on combining Earth observation and socio-economic data |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A seminar was given at the ESRC STEPS Centre to explore how satellite and socio-economic data can be combined to answer socially relevant questions. Approximately 10 social scientists attended across the STEPS Centre, Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex creating a lively discussion of possible applications, future development and list of uncertainties. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://steps1689.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=51199407&item=48 |
| Description | Socio-economic impact of aquaculture workshop in Poole |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Fifteen participants attended the workshop to investigate the socio-economic impacts of aquaculture at current levels and into the future. Discussions of issues hindering aquaculture growth such as lack of appropriate skill sets, better developed supply-chains and changing consumer markets were had. All participants were eager to ensure that the outputs were written into a paper and published to ensure access by a wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Workshop in South Africa for aquaculture sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A workshop was held in Cape Town with the support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and attracted over twenty participants from aquaculture business, policy makers and researchers. Presentations were given about the potential of Earth observation to help aquaculture businesses but also policy makers in monitoring and regulating aquaculture activities. The use of socio-economic data was also presented to highlight the value of integrating this specific information in marine spatial planning and working towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Participants were asked to identifying the types of Earth observation and socio-economic information required for their purposes and a list was created that will be used to develop on-going collaborations with stakeholders into the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |