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Credit: Dave Allen NIWA
Innovation Fund

Enabling inter-agency collaboration on cumulative effects

We produced guiding principles to help decision-makers manage the cumulative effects of human activities and natural events on the marine environment.

Project LeaderDurationBudget
Kate Davies (NIWA)July 2017 – July 2019$300,000

Overview

Managing the cumulative effects that arise from human activities and natural events is one of the most urgent and complex problems facing marine resource use decision makers today. 

Cumulative effects management in Aotearoa New Zealand is fragmented and inconsistent. This is largely due to disjointed legislative regimes and institutions. There is a need to account for interactions at different scales; data scarcity and uncertainty; and conflicting societal and economic expectations, values, and rights that are poorly integrated into decision-making. A consistent, ki uta ki tai (mountains-to-sea) strategy is needed because human and natural stressors cross political, jurisdictional, cultural and geographic boundaries.  

Until now, there has been little impetus for changing behaviours and management of marine ecosystems. Through this research, many of the agencies and institutions interested in cumulative effects management are working together to address this challenge.  

We showed where values, knowledge, and practices can be aligned to create more systematic approaches to managing cumulative effects and developing a framework that will help agencies and institutions do this. Our research recommendations will let managers make more informed decisions within existing legislative and institutional constraints.

This research builds on the work of the Navigating marine social-ecological systems project.

Related News

Project proposal

772 KB | pdf

Location

This is a national project.

Tools & Resources

This project has produced or contributed to:

Aotearoa Cumulative Effects (ACE) framework
Guidance
A tool to guide collaborative management of cumulative effects across a range of scales
View
How can collaboration improve cumulative effects management practices?
Academic publication
Crease R, Le Heron E, Fisher K and Davies K (2019) Resource Management Journal, November
View
Knowledge and information needed to inform cumulative effects management in Aotearoa New Zealand
Academic publication
Allison A, Fisher K, Lundquist C, and Davies K (2019) Resource Management Journal, November
View
Partnerships and processes for cumulative effects management
Academic publication
Davies K, Couzens G, Lundquist C and Fisher K (2019) Resource Management Journal, November
View
Principles for cumulative effects management in Aotearoa New Zealand
Academic publication
Davies K, Fisher K, Couzens G, Faulkner L and Hewitt J (2019) Resource Management Journal, November
View
The implications of uncertainty on cumulative effects management
Academic publication
Foley M, Lundquist C, Couzens G and Davies K (2019) Resource Management Journal, November
View
Trans-Tasman cumulative effects management: a comparative study
Academic publication
Davies KK, Fisher KT, Couzens G, Allison A, van Putten EI, Dambacher JM, Foley M and Lundquist CJ (2020) Frontiers in Marine Science 7:25
View
Enabling inter-agency collaboration on cumulative effects
Summary
Overview of the 'Enabling inter-agency collaboration on cumulative effects' project results and the Aotearoa Cumulative Effects (ACE) framework.
View

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