Tools Training

Upcoming EBM Tool Presentations and Demonstrations

• EBM Tools Awareness Webinar by Dan Dorfman of Intelligent Marine Planning (September 16, 2008, 2 PM EST).  This webinar will provide an overview of recently-developed technology tools and methods for facilitating Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) of coral reef ecosystems.   In particular, it will focus on tools and methods that can help resource managers and policymakers collect, visualize, analyze, and integrate diverse types of information (such as information on the coral reef ecosystem and human communities that depend on it); provide decision support for common coral reef conservation, restoration, and resource management decisions; and help engage communities and stakeholders in the decision making process.  For more information, contact the EBM Tools Network Coordinator Sarah Carr at sarah_carr at natureserve.org.

• Presentation on Management Strategy Evaluation Tools (Atlantis and InVitro) by Beth Fulton of CSIRO (November 13, 7 pm EST [United States and Canada]/11 am EDT [Australia]).  Management strategy evaluation (MSE) involves assessing the consequences of a range of management strategies or options and presenting the results in a way which lays bare the tradeoffs in performance across a range of management objectives. In contrast to some previous approaches to fisheries assessment, it does not seek to proscribe an optimal strategy or decision. Instead it seeks to provide the decision maker with the information on which to base a rational decision, given their own objectives, preferences, and attitudes to risk.  MSE is a simulation technique based on modelling each part of the adaptive management cycle. This presentation will feature two MSE tools developed by researchers at CSIRO: Atlantis, a deterministic biogeochemical whole of ecosystem model for the marine environment, and InVitro, an agent based ecosystem-level management strategy evaluation modelling framework for marine environments.  Learn more about MSE, Atlantis, and InVitro.  For more information, contact the EBM Tools Network Coordinator Sarah Carr at sarah_carr at natureserve.org.  ***Please note that this is our first “Australia/Pacific time zone-friendly” presentation.  Please forward this information to colleagues in the region.  If there is sufficient demand, we will try to have more in the future.***

Past EBM Tool Presentations and Demonstrations

Powerpoint presentations and audio files can be downloaded from the locations described below.  Video files for some of the presentations/demonstrations are available upon request.

• New Marxan Users Manual, Marxan Developments, and More (February 12, 2008) by Jeff Ardron of the Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Organization (PacMARA) and Hugh Possingham of The University of Queensland.  PacMARA and the University of Queensland have written an enhanced user's manual for the Marxan decision support tool.  Marxan is freeware used by over 1100 registered users from 600 organizations (government, academia and NGOs) in 95 countries as a decision support tool to consider options in terrestrial and marine reserve design. It is perhaps the most popular "site selection optimisation" software available and is widely published.  Previous documentation was a mixture of mathematical theory and technical input data requirements and did not fully meet the needs of all tool users. The new manual will facilitate understanding of the core software and will be translated into Spanish.  More information about the project and downloads of the Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be found here.

• Overview of e-Participation Techniques (March 6, 2008) by Chris Haller of PlaceMatters.  e-Participation is the use of information and communication technologies to broaden and deepen political participation by enabling citizens to connect with one another and with public leaders.  This demonstration will give an overview of a variety of e-Participation techniques and services that PlaceMatters offers including interactive project websites, keypad polling systems, community mapping exercises, web mapping tools, on-line brainstorming, and on-line dialogues.  Learn more about PlaceMatters' e-Participation offerings.  The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• EBM Tools Awareness Webinar (March 25, 2008) by Dan Dorfman, the EBM Tools Network Training Coordinator.  A variety of software tools have been developed to help policymakers and managers implement EBM processes such as collecting, visualizing, and analyzing information about ecosystems and human communities and engaging stakeholders in EBM decision making processes. This webinar provided an overview of tools that can be used to facilitate EBM processes in coastal and marine environments and their watersheds, provide brief descriptions of projects which have used these tools, and point managers in the direction of additional resources to find out more about tools. The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• Overview of Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) and Ecoseed Project (March 26, 2008) by Villy Christensen of the University of British Columbia.  EwE is a free ecological/ecosystem modeling software suite.  It can be used to address ecological questions; evaluate ecosystem effects of fishing; explore management policy options; analyze impact and placement of marine protected areas; predict movement and accumulation of contaminants and tracers (Ecotracer); and model effect of environmental changes. This presentation will provide an overview of the latest version of EwE and describe a new zoning tool, Ecoseed, that is being developed for the EwE software package through the MEBM Tool Innovation Fund.  Ecoseed is designed to evaluate placement of protected areas.  Learn more about Ecopath with Ecosim.  More information about the Ecosee project and downloads of the Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be found here.

• Demonstration of the Restoration Prioritization Toolset (April 10, 2008) by Chaeli Judd of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  The Restoration Prioritization Toolset is a GIS based decision support tool used to help prioritize restoration management activities within an area of interest. The toolset is focused on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and comprised of three models: Controlling Factors, Benthic Change and Prioritization. Each element analyzes one of the components of an an ecological conceptual model, uses local and satellite products, and provides feedback to the user based on that component. The toolset is available both through an on-line implementation and as ArcGIS toolboxes. Currently the online version is configured for Mobile Bay, AL.  Learn more about the Restoration Prioritization Toolset. The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• Demonstration of the Marine Reserves and Local Fisheries Interactive Simulation (May 15, 2008) by Dan Brumbaugh of the American Museum of Natural History.  This simulation-based education tool allows users to experiment witht the use of marine reserves as tools in fisheries management and to explore various biological and economic factors that influence population viability and fisheries sustainability.  Focusing on key Caribbean fisheries species, their habitat preferences, the distribution of these habitats across the seascape, economic costs and proceeds from small-scale fishereies, and simple models of fishing behavior, the simulation provides an easy to use but flexible platform for visualizing and exploring multiple ecololgical and human dimensions of fisheries management and marine reserve design.  Learn more about the simulation.  The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• Presentation about Communities at Sea Mapper (May 29, 2008) by Kevin St. Martin of Rutgers University.  A key difficulty in EBM is directly integrating human communities into the marine environment and management.  These difficulties are largely a result of the lack of data specifying those areas at sea that are utilized by communities of resource users even as the marine environment is increasingly understood in spatial terms.  This presentation will describe the background research for and a tool currently under development- Community at Sea Mapper- that will link port communities to resource areas.  Community at Sea Mapper (still under development) will facilitate two basic functions. The first function will link port communities (as defined by the end user) to resource areas. The second function will link specific resource areas (defined by the end user) to particular port communities.  The tool will facilitate the creation of maps depicting the resource areas upon which coastal communities depend and it will work to enhance impact analyses of area-based management initiatives.  Since the Community at Sea Mapper tool is still under development, this presentation will focus on Dr. St. Martin's research on New Engand fishing communities informing the tool functionality.  A demonstration of the tool functionality will be held at a later date after the tool is completed.  Funding for development of Community at Sea Mapper is being provided by the Duke-Packard Marine EBM Tool Innovation Fund.  For more information about the tool being developed and Dr. St. Martin's research, see http://mgel.env.duke.edu/proj/mebm/funded-projects/communities/index_htmland http://geography.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/stmartin/research.html.  The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• Demonstration of InVEST (June 12, 2008) by Heather Tallis of the Natural Capital Project.  Government officials, conservation professionals, farmers, and other land owners make decisions about how to use their land all the time. Yet, never before have any of these groups had a systematic way to demonstrate the future costs and benefits of their decisions for people and the environment. In its most ground-breaking effort, the Natural Capital Project aims to meet this challenge with InVEST, a new tool that can model and map the delivery, distribution, and economic value of life-support systems (ecosystem services), well into the future. The tool will help users visualize the impacts of potential decisions, identifying tradeoffs and compatibilities between environmental, economic, and social benefits.  Learn more about InVEST.  The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

• Presentation of "Models in support of decision making: deliberative effectiveness, explanatory effectiveness, and policy relevance of models in natural resources management. Case studies in the Laurentian Great Lakes" (June 24, 2008) by Emily Therese Cloyd from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Office.  This study focused on how participants experienced the process of using models to support policy decisions and what their experiences suggest for designing future processes. We analyzed four cases in which computer simulation models served as decision support tools, all drawn from the Laurentian Great Lakes.  For each case, we assessed how models have been used in decision making, their strengths and weaknesses as decision tools, the ways they have enhanced or undermined decision processes, and ways their development and use could be improved. We conducted in-depth interviews with modelers, managers, decision-makers, and stakeholders and drew on scientific and technical literature related to each case in order to understand the "success" of models as decision support tools in three areas: (1) deliberative effectiveness (fostering communication among participants); (2) explanatory effectiveness (achieving a shared understanding of the problem and solutions); and (3) policy relevance (relevant to the actual policy decisions being made).  Download the full report (JP Manno, R Smardon, JV DePinto, ET Cloyd, and SM Del Granado. 2008 The use of models in Great Lakes decision making: an interdisciplinary synthesis. Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute: Syracuse, NY. Occasional Paper 16. 95 pp.) at www.esf.edu/es/documents/GreatLakesRpt.pdf.  The Powerpoint presentation and an audio file of the presentation can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

Training Database goes here

Technology Tools for Ecosystem-Based Management of Coral Reefs to be held at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, July 12, 2008, 8:30 - 11:30 am

This training workshop will provide an overview of recently-developed technology tools and methods for facilitating Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) of coral reef ecosystems.  In particular, we will focus on tools and methods that can help resource managers and policymakers collect, visualize, analyze, and integrate diverse types of information (such as information on the coral reef ecosystem and human communities that depend on it); provide decision support for common coral reef conservation, restoration, and resource management decisions; and help engage communities and stakeholders in the decision making process.  For more information, contact the EBM Tools Network Research Assistant Lindsay Elder at lindsay_elder@natureserve.org.

Tools and Methods for Integrated Land-Sea Planning to be held at the Society for Conservation Biology Meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, July 13, 2008, 8 am - 5 pm

This training workshop will use a selection of current case studies (from a rural area of Texas; an urban area in Charleston, South Carolina; and paired work in coastal Oregon and North Queensland, Australia) to educate participants about tools and methods that can be employed to conduct integrated land-sea planning.  The full-day workshop will also allow enough time for participants to describe their proposed or desired integrated land-sea planning work and discuss different ways to conduct this work with workshop organizers and each other. For more information, contact the EBM Tools Network Research Assistant Lindsay Elder at lindsay_elder@natureserve.org.

Technology Tools for Coastal-Marine Ecosystem Based Management to be held at the Coast to Coast Conference in Darwin, Australia, August 21, 2008, ½-day Workshop

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of coastal and marine environments requires the integration of information about a vast array of environmental and human systems. A variety of software tools have been developed to help policymakers and managers collect, visualize, and analyze this information and engage stakeholders in the EBM decision making process. This workshop will provide an overview of existing tools that can be used for EBM in coastal and marine environments (including live demonstrations of key tools), describe projects which have used these tools, provide guidance on what a coastal manager needs to consider when selecting a tool for his or her project, and point managers in the direction of additional resources to find out more about tools. We will also seek input from participants on the types of tools that would be useful for their EBM projects and what they would like to see in an expanded EBM tools training course. For more information, contact the EBM Tools Network Coordinator Sarah Carr at sarah_carr@natureserve.org.

EBM Tools Network Training Program 

The EBM Tools Network has recently established an EBM Tools Training Program which provides tools awareness trainings at professional meetings and conferences. These awareness trainings provide EBM practitioners with an understanding of how technology tools can facilitate EBM, what tools are currently available to help implement EBM, how EBM tools have been used in previous projects, and the range of resources available for selecting and using EBM tools. The EBM Tools Training Program also provides web-based training materials and fee-based tools trainings tailored to specific projects or regions.  Learn more about upcoming EBM Tools Network Training Opportunities.

Other EBM Tools Training Opportunities

We also provide information about EBM Tools Training Opportunties offered by other training providers such as NOAA Coastal Services Center.  Learn more about other EBM Tools Training Opportunities.  In addition, many tool developers offer training on the tool or tools that they develop.  Contact information for tool developers can be found in the EBM Tools Database.