On February 14, the Marine Ecosystem Risk Team (MERT) and the Adaptation Sciences Program (AdSci) will hold a focus group of coastal managers to discuss how decision makers (e.g. resource managers, coastal planners, etc.) are considering blue carbon in their adaptation and mitigation planning and gain understanding about what additional information is most needed to inform management decisions. The focus group is intended to serve as a forum for protected area managers to discuss their views on the critical needs to understand and manage blue carbon ecosystems, and the socio-ecological services they provide, in a changing climate.
The discussion will include marine and coastal managers from national marine sanctuaries and national estuarine research reserves as well as Sea Grant extension agents and others around NOAA that support the management of blue carbon ecosystems. The information gained from this focus group will help guide MERT and AdSci in the development of projects and initiatives to support the management of blue carbon ecosystems to protect, restore, and enhance the adaptation, mitigation, and other socio-ecological services they provide. This focus group is a part of an overarching goal of the Marine Ecosystems Risk Team (MERT) initiative to identify science and information needs of national marine sanctuaries and other NOAA stewardship assets while increasing collaboration between NOAA programs to advance NOAA’s stewardship mission.
For more information, contact Zac Cannizzo.
