DAM-SN-iSeal2

Integrated social-ecological network analysis for the transdisciplinary development of indicators and recommendations for action to reduce anthropogenic stressors

The Wadden Sea is a unique habitat and plays an important role for humans and nature. However, the effects of complex stressors such as climate change, fishing and invasive species are jeopardizing a good environmental status of the coastal marine ecosystems. Marine protected areas in particular are of great importance for the conservation of the biological diversity of species, processes and habitats as well as the resulting ecosystem services. 

The  iSeal2 project is part of the research mission of the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM)  SustainMare: "Protection and sustainable use of marine areas". iSeal2 applies a holistic transdisciplinary research approach to develop knowledge and recommendations for action with the aim to minimize the effects of multiple stressors on biodiversity, functionality and the food web along the German North Sea coast. The Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Parks and the adjacent coastal region serve as real-world laboratories. Together with key actors from administration, ecosystem users and non-governmental organizations, the project develops the foundations to advance the implementation of ecosystem-based management in the Wadden Sea National Parks. 

The University of Osnabrück focuses on organizing the implementation of ecosystem-based management in the Wadden Sea National Parks. Ecosystem-based marine conservation requires integrated and participatory management approaches. However, the implementation of such approaches poses a complex challenge due to the diverse socio-ecological contexts and the large number of different stakeholders.  Based on the knowledge gained in the first phase of the project, visions and recommendations for action for the design of integrative governance structures to reduce multiple stressors will be developed in an interactive transdisciplinary process in the second phase of the project. Furthermore, toolkits based on a semi-quantitative analysis for the evaluation of social, economic and ecological networks under different stressors and scenarios for marine spatial planning will be developed and applied. In this way, the project contributes to the objectives of the research mission and promotes the conservation of biodiversity in the German seas.