But What Does It All Mean? Observations, Recommendations, and Examples of Information Sharing Tools Distilling the Science for Use on a Local Management Scale By Chris Stewart Christian J. Stewart Consulting

Observations from the “Outside” The science is incredible and state-of-the art, yet it is also overwhelming and complex. The “devil is in the details”…research raises questions, raises research, raises questions…when do we draw the line and provide some sound results or data to hang management decisions on?

Observations from the “Outside” There will never be enough data to make 100% accurate management decisions or predictions… However there is enough to help make confident management decisions and predictions…data needs to be scientifically defensible with suitable caveats and limitations placed on it. Yet there seems to be an unwillingness to share the data until more study is done

Observations from the “Outside” Could focus forever on the science but will end up doing this at the expense of providing results that are useful for making management decisions… The “numbers” can always be refined, but the basic premise behind any management strategy will remain unchanged…e.g. manage sand supply to benefit (retain) beaches.

Observations from the “Outside” Degree of risk is key…we need to provide enough information and data for communities/individuals to adequately assess the degree of risk they wish to take. Focus on initial impetus for the study…local communities…if you continue to conduct research on things they can not relate to, or understand, the study will ultimately be a failure. What do the local communities need to know?…

A Local Perspective What is this? Why is it happening? Why is it here? Where did it come from? Why is it important? Why are you studying it? How does it impact me or my property? (financial, emotional) What can I do now or in the future?

How Can We Distill Our Work? Need to step back from the detailed research and extract those aspects of it that are relevant or important for coastal zone management. Establish “linkages” between what you are studying and what a property owner observes in front of their house. Get the local communities and individuals involved in the doing and learning the science…perhaps it’s not too late?…empower them to make decisions based on confident data

Some Specifics… Add a paragraph or two to the present abstracts that talks about “Implications of This Work for Coastal Zone Management” Take your present abstract or research summary and write it as a newspaper article or 5 minute local news piece…hit the key points and answer the “so what?” Develop a sound “communications strategy”…what type of products need to go to what type of audiences? What products do the communities want?

Information Products and Tools CD-ROMs (data, reports, maps, etc) CD-ROMs (multi-media, interactive learning tools) Paper Atlases, Maps, Reports Fact Sheets, News Articles Web Pages Visualization Tools and Animations Information Management Tools Document Management Tools GIS Analysis Tools

Some Examples Zambezi River Wetlands Information System – Multi-media information and document management system – Web and CD-ROM based Recession Rate Analysis System – RDBMS / GIS Data Query and Visualization System Flood and Erosion Prediction System – Modular GIS (ArcView) Modeling System