IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoser/v16y2015icp403-412.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring indicators of ocean health for an island nation: The ocean health index for Fiji

Author

Listed:
  • Selig, Elizabeth R.
  • Frazier, Melanie
  • O'Leary, Jennifer K.
  • Jupiter, Stacy D.
  • Halpern, Benjamin S.
  • Longo, Catherine
  • Kleisner, Kristin L.
  • Sivo, Loraini
  • Ranelletti, Marla

Abstract

People depend on the ocean to provide a range of ecosystem services, including sustaining economies and providing nutrition. We demonstrate how a global ocean health index framework can be applied to a data-limited scenario and modified to incorporate the objectives and context of a developing island nation like Fiji. Although these changes did not have a major effect on the total index value, two goals had substantial changes. The artisanal opportunities goal increased from 46 to 92 as a result of changes to the model for Fiji, which looks at the stock status of artisanally-caught species. The lasting special places sub-goal decreased from 96 to 48, due to the use of Fiji-specific data and reference points that allow policymakers to track progress towards national goals. Fiji scored high for the tourism and recreation goal, but low for the production-oriented natural products goal and mariculture sub-goal, which may reflect national values and development priorities. By measuring ocean health across a portfolio of goals and re-calculating scores over time, we can better understand potential trade-offs between goals. Our approach for measuring ocean health in Fiji highlights pathways for improvements and approaches that may help guide other data-limited countries in assessing ocean health.

Suggested Citation

  • Selig, Elizabeth R. & Frazier, Melanie & O'Leary, Jennifer K. & Jupiter, Stacy D. & Halpern, Benjamin S. & Longo, Catherine & Kleisner, Kristin L. & Sivo, Loraini & Ranelletti, Marla, 2015. "Measuring indicators of ocean health for an island nation: The ocean health index for Fiji," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 403-412.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:16:y:2015:i:c:p:403-412
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.11.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041614001363
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.11.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Koehn, J. Zachary & Reineman, Daniel R. & Kittinger, John N., 2013. "Progress and promise in spatial human dimensions research for ecosystem-based ocean planning," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 31-38.
    2. Teh, Lydia C.L. & Teh, Louise S.L. & Starkhouse, Ben & Rashid Sumaila, U., 2009. "An overview of socio-economic and ecological perspectives of Fiji's inshore reef fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 807-817, September.
    3. John F Bruno & Elizabeth R Selig, 2007. "Regional Decline of Coral Cover in the Indo-Pacific: Timing, Extent, and Subregional Comparisons," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(8), pages 1-8, August.
    4. Bell, Johann D. & Kronen, Mecki & Vunisea, Aliti & Nash, Warwick J. & Keeble, Gregory & Demmke, Andreas & Pontifex, Scott & Andréfouët, Serge, 2009. "Planning the use of fish for food security in the Pacific," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 64-76, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Patricia M. Clay & Jennifer Howard & D. Shallin Busch & Lisa L. Colburn & Amber Himes-Cornell & Steven S. Rumrill & Stephani G. Zador & Roger B. Griffis, 2020. "Ocean and coastal indicators: understanding and coping with climate change at the land-sea interface," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 1773-1793, December.
    2. Nguyen, Kim Anh Thi & Jolly, Curtis M. & Nguelifack, Brice Merlin, 2018. "Biodiversity, coastal protection and resource endowment: Policy options for improving ocean health," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 242-264.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Louise Teh & Vicky Lam & William Cheung & Dana Miller & Lydia Teh & U. Rashid Sumaila, 2017. "Impact of high seas closure on food security in low-income fish-dependent countries," Chapters, in: Paulo A.L.D. Nunes & Lisa E. Svensson & Anil Markandya (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Management of Sustainable Oceans, chapter 11, pages 232-262, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Albert, Joelle A. & Olds, Andrew D. & Albert, Simon & Cruz-Trinidad, Annabelle & Schwarz, Anne-Maree, 2015. "Reaping the reef: Provisioning services from coral reefs in Solomon Islands," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 244-251.
    3. Phillip K Lowe & John F Bruno & Elizabeth R Selig & Matthew Spencer, 2011. "Empirical Models of Transitions between Coral Reef States: Effects of Region, Protection, and Environmental Change," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Nicky Roberts & Buchari Mengge & Brietta Oaks & Novita Sari & Irsan & Austin Humphries, 2023. "Fish consumption pathways and food security in an Indonesian fishing community," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Cleasby, Nathan & Schwarz, Anne-Maree & Phillips, Michael & Paul, Chris & Pant, Jharendu & Oeta, Janet & Pickering, Tim & Meloty, Alex & Laumani, Michael & Kori, Max, 2014. "The socio-economic context for improving food security through land based aquaculture in Solomon Islands: A peri-urban case study," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 89-97.
    6. Wood, Apanie L. & Butler, James R.A. & Sheaves, Marcus & Wani, Jacob, 2013. "Sport fisheries: Opportunities and challenges for diversifying coastal livelihoods in the Pacific," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 305-314.
    7. Mangubhai, Sangeeta & Sykes, Helen & Manley, Marita & Vukikomoala, Kiji & Beattie, Madeline, 2020. "Contributions of tourism-based Marine Conservation Agreements to natural resource management in Fiji," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Paul R. Ehrlich & John Harte, 2018. "Pessimism on the Food Front," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-5, April.
    9. Timothy McClanahan & Joseph Maina & Mebrahtu Ateweberhan, 2015. "Regional coral responses to climate disturbances and warming is predicted by multivariate stress model and not temperature threshold metrics," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 131(4), pages 607-620, August.
    10. Wenyue Tang & Qianguang Wang & Hao Cheng & Taohong Liu & Jianmin Wan, 2024. "Livelihood vulnerability assessment of land-lost farmers in the context of tourism and the COVID-19 pandemic," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 23059-23083, September.
    11. Shankar Aswani & Ingrid Putten & Sara Miñarro, 2017. "Environmental and social recovery asymmetries to large-scale disturbances in small island communities," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 86(1), pages 241-262, March.
    12. Sarah F. W. Taylor & Michael J. Roberts & Ben Milligan & Ronney Ncwadi, 2019. "Measurement and implications of marine food security in the Western Indian Ocean: an impending crisis?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1395-1415, December.
    13. Julie Vercelloni & M Julian Caley & Mohsen Kayal & Samantha Low-Choy & Kerrie Mengersen, 2014. "Understanding Uncertainties in Non-Linear Population Trajectories: A Bayesian Semi-Parametric Hierarchical Approach to Large-Scale Surveys of Coral Cover," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-9, November.
    14. Emily S Darling, 2014. "Assessing the Effect of Marine Reserves on Household Food Security in Kenyan Coral Reef Fishing Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-20, November.
    15. Nesren Khairy & Rasha H. Ramadan & Haya M. Alogayell & Ibtesam I. Alkadi & Ismail Y. Ismail & Mona S. Ramadan, 2022. "Climate Change Assessment of the Spatial Potential Aggregation Zones of Plectropomus pessuliferus marisrubri and Plectropomus areolatus along the Saudi Coast, Using RS and GIS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, November.
    16. Erica Reeve & Amerita Ravuvu & Anna Farmery & Senoveva Mauli & Dorah Wilson & Ellen Johnson & Anne-Marie Thow, 2022. "Strengthening Food Systems Governance to Achieve Multiple Objectives: A Comparative Instrumentation Analysis of Food Systems Policies in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-23, May.
    17. Nicholas A J Graham & Tim R McClanahan & M Aaron MacNeil & Shaun K Wilson & Nicholas V C Polunin & Simon Jennings & Pascale Chabanet & Susan Clark & Mark D Spalding & Yves Letourneur & Lionel Bigot & , 2008. "Climate Warming, Marine Protected Areas and the Ocean-Scale Integrity of Coral Reef Ecosystems," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(8), pages 1-9, August.
    18. Schwarz, A.M. & Andrew, N. & Govan, H. & Harohau, D. & Oeta, J., 2013. "Solomon Islands: Malaita Hub scoping report," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40234, April.
    19. Butler, J.R.A. & Skewes, T. & Mitchell, D. & Pontio, M. & Hills, T., 2014. "Stakeholder perceptions of ecosystem service declines in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea: Is human population a more critical driver than climate change?," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-13.
    20. Louise S. L. Teh & Lydia C. L. Teh & U. Rashid Sumaila, 2011. "Low Discounting Behavior among Small-Scale Fishers in Fiji and Sabah, Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(6), pages 1-17, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:16:y:2015:i:c:p:403-412. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecosystem-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.