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This paper fulfils a gap in environmental management by producing a typology of stakeholders for effective participatory processes and co-design of solutions to complex social–environmental issues and then uses this typology for a stepwise roadmap methodology for balanced and productive stakeholder engagement. Definitions are given of terminology that is frequently used interchangeably such as “stakeholders,” “social actors,” and “interested parties.” Whilst this analysis comes from a marine perspective, it is relevant to all environments and the means of tackling environmental problems. Eleven research questions about participative processes are addressed, based on more than 30 years of experience in water, estuarine, coastal, and marine management. A stepwise roadmap, supported by illustrative tables based on case-studies, shows how a balanced stakeholder selection and real engagement may be achieved. The paper brings these together in the context of several up-to-date concepts such as complex, nested governance, the 10 tenets for integrated, successful, and sustainable marine management, the System Approach Framework and the evolution of DPSIR into DAPSI(W)R(M) framework. Examples given are based on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the Framework Directive for Maritime Spatial Planning, as well as for Regional Sea Conventions. The paper also shows how tools that have been developed in recent projects can be put to use to implement policy and maximize the effectiveness of stakeholder participation.

The ocean's biological carbon pump plays a central role in regulating atmospheric CO2 levels. In particular, the depth at which sinking organic carbon is broken down and respired in the mesopelagic zone is critical, with deeper remineralization resulting in greater carbon storage. Until recently, however, a balanced budget of the supply and consumption of organic carbon in the mesopelagic had not been constructed in any region of the ocean, and the processes controlling organic carbon turnover are still poorly understood. Large-scale data syntheses suggest that a wide range of factors can influence remineralization depth including upper-ocean ecological interactions, and interior dissolved oxygen concentration and temperature. However, these analyses do not provide a mechanistic understanding of remineralization, which increases the challenge of appropriately modeling the mesopelagic carbon dynamics. In light of this, the UK Natural Environment Research Council has funded a programme with this mechanistic understanding as its aim, drawing targeted fieldwork right through to implementation of a new parameterization for mesopelagic remineralization within an IPCC class global biogeochemical model. The Controls over Ocean Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage (COMICS) programme will deliver new insights into the processes of carbon cycling in the mesopelagic zone and how these influence ocean carbon storage. Here we outline the programme's rationale, its goals, planned fieldwork, and modeling activities, with the aim of stimulating international collaboration.

Several legal and administrative instruments aimed to reduce the spread of non-indigenous species, that may pose harm to the environment, economy and/or human health, were developed in recent years at international and national levels, such as the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Code of Practice on the Introductions and Transfers of Marine Organisms, the EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the US Invasive Species Act, the Biosecurity Act of New Zealand, etc. The effectiveness of these instruments can only be measured by successes in the prevention of new introductions. We propose an indicator, the arrival of new non-indigenous species (nNIS), which helps to assess introduction rates, especially in relation to pathways and vectors of introduction, and is aimed to support management. The technical precondition for the calculation of nNIS is the availability of a global, continuously updated and verified source of information on aquatic non-indigenous species. Such a database is needed, because the indicator should be calculated at different geographical scales: 1) for a particular area, such as port or coast of a country within a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME); 2) for a whole LME; and 3) for a larger biogeographical region, including two or more neighboring LMEs. The geographical scale of nNIS helps to distinguish between a primary introduction and secondary spread, which may involve different pathways and vectors. This, in turn, determines the availability of management options, because it is more feasible to prevent a primary introduction than to stop subsequent secondary spread. The definition of environmental target, size of assessment unit and possible limitations of the indicator are also discussed.

The benefit of engaging volunteers in marine citizen science projects goes beyond generation of data and has intrinsic value with regards to community capacity-building and education. Yet, despite the documented benefits of citizen science, there can be barriers to the process of developing strategic citizen science projects and translating data into valued results with natural resource management applications. This paper presents four case-studies from fifteen years of Reef Check Australia (RCA) marine citizen science research and education projects. These case studies convey approaches and lessons-learned from the process of designing, implementing and sharing citizen science programs with the goal to create valuable social and environmental outcomes: Demonstrating citizen science data quality through a precision study on data and analysis of 15 years of standardized Reef Check (RC) reef health data in Queensland, Australia. Identifying and responding to data gaps through volunteer monitoring of sub-tropical rocky reefs in South East Queensland, Australia. Adapting citizen science protocols to enhance capacity building, partnerships and strategic natural resource management applications through reef habitat mapping. Tailoring new pathways for sharing citizen science findings and engaging volunteers with the community via a Reef Check Australia Ambassadors community outreach program. These case studies offer insights into considerations for developing targeted and flexible citizen science projects, showcasing the work of volunteers and project stakeholders, and collaborating with partners for applications beneficial to research, management and education.