Toward social-ecological indicator integration in managing oceans and coasts

A holistic understanding of social-ecological systems is essential to foster resilient, adaptive, and sustainable marine ecosystems and human communities. Yet, the integration of social and ecological dimensions is still developing within natural resource management, as are the indicators necessary to monitor them. In this study, we assess the integration of social and ecological indicators in marine management through a case study exploring the use of and degree of linkage between social and ecological indicators in US federal environmental and ocean resource agencies. Using a survey, we collected indicator sets or reports developed by these US federal agencies and found that 7 out of 11 total reports contained both social and ecological indicators. Within those reports, there were 333 social indicators. Only 35% (116) of the social indicators could be directly linked to commonly monitored ecological indicators. Social-ecological connections were focused on many themes, including tourism and recreation, fishing and marine resource use, resilience of coastal communities, well-being, cultural/spiritual value, economic impact, environmental and resource management education, and participation in resource management. These results suggest that some integration of social and ecological indicators within the ocean and environmental-focused federal agencies in the US is occurring, but it is not widespread. Exploring and applying methods that facilitate the integration of social and ecological indicators is the next frontier in achieving management of the environment as a combined social-ecological system.