Results & Outcomes: Overview

 

The ECOMANAGE project focused on three estuarine systems in Latin America: Santos Estuary and Bahia Blanca in the Atlantic coast, and Aysén Fjord in the Pacific coast. Together, they represent key coastal zones regarding their integrated management. All show conflicting interests between urban, industrial and agricultural development and environmental conservation. Thus, beyond their differences, they share some of the major regional environmental concerns: transformation of the landscape and seascape with the loss of natural patrimony, increased human waste and industrial disposal including those from aquaculture activities.  

Identification of the main drivers and pressures
From heavily populated area of Santos Estuary to the near-pristine water conditions of Aysén Fjord, the work developed in the project has cover a wide range of ecological and socio-economical conditions, and their inevitable conflicts and challenges in management. These systems share some similarities and also some conspicuous differences. These settings meant sometimes the use of different approaches and methodologies to address site-specific issues.

Based on the DPSIR framework, it was possible to identify the large-scale human drivers of change in each site, and to link them to impacts on the state of the system through the pressures. The first step in the DPSIR framework was the definition of the driving-forces that lead to environmental pressures. For this first step, the major stakeholders where identified and also their values, interests and possible conflicts between them. A synthesis of the major outcomes of this process is presented in Table 1.
 

Set up, calibration and validation of numerical models
A major outcome of ECOMANAGE project has been the set up of numerical models to all the study sites. The MOHID modelling platform has been used to simulate the major processes of these distinct estuarine systems. Also, groundwater and watershed modelling applications were developed. The models have been calibrated and validated with historical field data sets and whenever needed, sampling campaigns were made to complement insufficient data. The use of models have made possible to clarify causes and effects in environmental processes, the distinction between anthropogenic and natural contamination sources and their respective impact at each site. In addition, modelling results have proved to be important to complement data from traditional experimental research methods and have become an essential tool during the project for understanding complex processes that link different compartments of the system and to run across the land-sea interface by linking catchments’ and estuarine processes.
 

Testing development scenarios / management options with models
Model application developed during ECOMANAGE project have been combined with the DPSIR framework with the objective of improving communication and understanding of the nature of the problems, thus helping in the decision making process. This was achieved by simulating different development scenarios for each site or by testing the outcome of different management policies in the ecological state of the system. These studies have addressed the housing and population growth effects on the Santos Estuarine system, sewage related problems in Bahia Blanca, and the effect of aquaculture waste products on the bottom water of Aysén Fjord.
 

Stakeholders' involvement
The project has promoted strong public involvement of stakeholders by giving them the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes, leading to the establishment of a straight cooperation between project partners and the main stakeholders in the studied areas. The totally new conceptual framework brought by ECOMANAGE improved the better understanding of the management issues in the three sites and lead to specific answers to local problems with generic methodologies. Outcomes of the project were of significant interest to both scientific and water resources management communities in all sites. ECOMANAGE project has help in the public education and consensus-building processes and has promoted and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. A significant outcome of including local stakeholders has been a renewed cooperation pointing to future work and development of the work started during the project.
 

International, cross-disciplinary teamwork
A main achievement of ECOMANAGE is certainly the combined effort to achieve better management strategies for the study areas. Public and private institutions at each site have made part of the effort, working side by side with the scientific staff of the project. The project also provided the opportunity for a significant number of students to pursue their academic degrees, and for the collaboration of researcher from other institutions and universities. Many areas of expertise have been blended in the work of ECOMANAGE, including fields as ecology, water pollution, ecotoxicology, hydrodynamics, modeling, groundwater, economics and social sciences.
 

A decision support system
Another major product of the project was a site-specific knowledge base on estuarine and basin management, and a spatial decision support system to provide guidelines for restoration and sustainable development of the sites. In the ongoing work started in the project this system will help to identify policy alternatives and assess their impact on the management objectives. During the project this was conducted largely by technical experts, with input from stakeholders in the form of selecting the experts and defining their terms of reference. In the future this tool will help to evaluate and choose preferred policy alternatives between competing objectives and methods, allowing stakeholders to state their preferences (value-based information) for different outcomes, based on good information (factual or technical information).
 

Table 1. Major socio-economical features of the ECOMANAGE study sites.

 Deliverables

 

 Books

 

Neves R, Baretta J and Mateus M (eds), 2008, Perspectives on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in South America, IST Press, Lisbon, Portugal (ISBN:978-972-8469-74-0). (~37MB)

Bachmann P, Delgado L and Marin (eds), 2007, Toward and integrated ecological coastal zone management in Chile: Contributions from ECOMANAGE Project, Salesianos Impresores S.A., Santiago, Chile, 93 pp. (English and Spanish). (~90MB)

 Book chapters

 

Spanish
Marín VH & Delgado LE, 2005, El manejo ecosistémico de los recursos marinos vivos: un desafio eco-social. In: Biodiversidade Marina: Valoración, Usos y Perspectivas: Hacia dónde va Chile?, E. Figueroa B. (ed.), Editorial Universitaria, pp.555-570

 Articles

 

Yarrow MM, Tironi A, Ramírez AA, Marín VH, 2008, An applied assessment model to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of wáter quality regulations in Chile. Water Resources Management DOI 10.1007/s11269-008-9241-0

Yarrow MM, Marín VH, 2007, Toward conceptual cohesiveness: a historical analysis of the theory and utility of ecological boundaries and transition zones. Ecosystems 10:462-476

Marín VH, Delgado LE, Bachmann P, 2007, Conceptual PHES-system models of the Aysén watershed and fjord (Southern Chile): Testing a brainstorming strategy. Journal of Environmental Management. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.05.012

Bachmann PL, Delgado LE, Marín VH, 2007, Analysis of the citizen’s participation concept used by local decision makers: the case of the Aysén watershed in southern Chile. Int. J. Sustainable development 10: 251-266

Marcovecchio, J.E. y L.D.Ferrer, 2005. Distribution and geochemical partitioning of heavy metals in sediments of the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina. Journal of Coastal Research, 21: 826-834.

Grecco, L.E., A.O.Marcos,  E.A.Gómez, S.Botté y J.Marcovechio, 2006. Natural and anthropogenic input of heavy metals in sediments from the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina). Journal of Coastal Research SI 39: 1021-1025.

Popovich, C.A., C.V.Spetter, J.E.Marcovecchio y R.H.Freije, 2008. Dissolved nutrients availability during winter diatom bloom in a turbid and shallow estuary (Bahía Blanca, Argentina). Journal of Coastal Research  24: 95-102.

Popovich, C.A. y J.E.Marcovecchio, 2008. Spatial Variability of Phytoplankton and Environmental Factors in a Temperate Estuary of South América (Atlantic Coast, Argentina). Continental Shelf Research 28: 236-244.

Spanish
Delgado LE, Bachmann PL & Oñate B, 2007, Gobernanza ambiental: una estrategia orientada al desarrollo sustentable local a través de la participación ciudadana. Revista Ambiente y Desarrollo 23 (3):68-73

Delgado LE & Marín VH, 2005, FES-sistema: un concepto para la incorporación de las sociedades humanas en el análisis medioambiental en Chile. Revista Ambiente y Desarrollo 21(3):18-2
 

 Thesis

 

Master Thesis

Portuguese
Belchior CC, 2008, Gestão costeira integrada - Estudo de caso do projecto ECOMANAGE na região estuarina de Santos - São Vicente, SP, Brasil, Universidade de S. Paulo PROCAM, 108p.
 

Undergraduate Thesis

Portuguese
Ribeiro RB, 2007, Modelo conceitual do fluxo de energia no sistema estuarino de Santos - São Vicente com ênfase em três produtores primários, Universidade de Santa Cecília - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 72p.

Fiori EF, 2007, Caracterização da macrofauna bentônica de substrato inconsolidado do estuário de Santos, SP, Universidade Santa Cecília - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 64p.

Santos MP, 2007, Distribuição, densidade, biomassa e produção primária de spartina spp no sistema estuarino de Santos, SP, Brasil, Universidade Santa Cecília - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 49p.

Moya GC & Kasamatsu LK, 2006, Análise sazonal dos organismos do “fouling” no estuário de Santos-São Vicente, SP, Universidade Santa Cecília - Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 52p.
 

Spanish
Torres MA, 2007, Estudio de la estructura del paisaje a lo largo de gradientes urbano-rurales en la cuenca del Río Aysén (xi Región, Chile), Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile, Santiago –  Chile, 31p.

Altamirano TV, 2006, Modelación del flujo del nitrógeno, en la sub-cuenca mañihuales, Aysén, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile, Santiago –  Chile, 46p.

Tironi A, 2006, Herramienta de gestión para la salmonicultura en bahía Chacabuco, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile, Santiago –  Chile, 42p.

Oyarzo PA, 2006, Distribucion espacial de la carga de nutrientes en la cuenca hidrografica del Rio Aysén, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile, Santiago –  Chile, 63p.