Complex Systems and Integrated Approaches: Learning from Ecosystem and Water Resources Science and Management to Inform Planning in the Coastal Zone

The growing complexity of rapid environmental changes, cross-jurisdictional natural resource users, and management authorities has placed a greater importance on integrating science and management at landscape or ecosystem scales. Describing and understanding the relationships that drive landscape-scale processes, their response to stressors and future change, and the prudent management of human activities in these systems, is difficult in the least. Abrupt changes, tipping points, and clustering of extreme events further complicate our ability to capably manage and maintain resources in a sustainable and resilient state. This task is even more challenging in systems that are controlled by different drivers on multiple timescales, cross natural or political boundaries, and include diverse demands for their services and management authorities and approaches. This also brings great opportunity for scientists, managers, and users to identify common principles and strategies that can reduce conflict, and achieve economies of scale and equitable outcomes. This presentation will describe strategies and future challenges for managing system sustainability and reducing vulnerability to rapid change. Key elements of effective ecosystem and watershed management include: flexible approaches that adapt to demographic pressures and environmental change; developing environmental, social, and economic indicators that integrate across time scales and geography; sharing and leveraging monitoring, knowledge, management processes, and outreach; facilitating the flow of timely, acceptable, and reliable risk and trade-off information to decision makers; and the support of collaborative science, management, and governance frameworks. Using examples from the management of watershed, coastal, and ocean systems as independent and interconnected systems, we will show how these strategies and insights may be applied to advise integrated planning and management of coastal resources and ecosystems.