An Introduction to Socio-Economic Assessment within a Marine Strategy Framework

The purpose of this report is to set out a decision support system focused on socio-economic analysis aimed at enabling OSPAR to further its mission - 'to conserve marine ecosystems and safeguard human health in the North-East Atlantic by preventing and eliminating pollution...'. The socio-economic methods and techniques set out in this report can contribute to the protection of the marine environment and the sustainable use of the seas by identifying economically efficient and cost effective policy options (i.e. projects, policies, programmes and courses of action). The socio-economic decision support system (DSS) can be embedded into the OSPAR work programme and its core holistic assessment of the quality status of the N-E Atlantic and its future prospects. The particular version of socio-economic analysis advocated in this report has been deliberately chosen because of its compatibility with the ecosystem approach (EA) adopted by OSPAR in line with the Ministerial Declarations and statements which have guided the Commission's work since 1998. OSPAR defines EA as: "the comprehensive integrated management of human activities based on the best available scientific knowledge about the ecosystem and its dynamics, in order to identify and take action on influences which are critical to the health of marine ecosystems, thereby achieving sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services and maintenance of ecosystem integrity". The socio-economic analysis can underpin the on going work on contaminants abatement measures and quality assessment and risk indicators science that OSPAR has championed. It takes a strong sustainability position in that ecosystems are seen as suppliers of a range of intermediate and final services through which humans benefit in terms of welfare. Sustainable utilisation of this vital resource base is therefore the key notion. The assigning of monetary values to the benefits provided by 'healthy' ecosystems it is argued can supplement scientific and ethical arguments in favour of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.