Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms

The offshore Multi-use Setting (MUS) is a concept that aims to co-locate marine industrial activities, including wind farms and aquaculture. MUS is considered an innovative approach to promoting efficiency in space and resource use whilst contributing global policy priorities. However, the impacts of MUS development across social, economic, and environmental domains are uncertain, hindering the commercialisation of the concept. In this study, we initially demonstrate the potential consequences of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm as a step towards MUS. Using a hypothetical case study and modified Delphi methodology, 14 subject matter experts predicted potential outcomes across social and environmental objectives. Five Cognitive maps and impact tables of 58 potential consequences were generated based on experts' perspective on co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm. The findings highlight the potential to exasperate pressures in the area, including those already attributed to wind farm operations, such as species mortality and stakeholder conflict. However, it may also enhance social-ecological conditions, such as resource provisioning and promoting habitat functionality in the region, through the addition of seaweed aquaculture. The cognitive maps demonstrate the complexity of managing MUS implementation, where high degree of variability and uncertainty about the outcomes is present. The findings of this study provide the vital entry point to performing further integrative assessment and modelling approaches, such as probabilistic analysis and simulations, in support of MUS decision-making. The research also strongly recommends alternative strategies in the pursuit of combining seaweed production and wind farms to avoid significant financial (among many other) trade-offs and risks. More broadly, we have found that our approach's ability to visually represent a complex situation while considering multiple objectives could be immensely valuable for other bioeconomy innovations or nature-based solutions. It helps mitigate the potential for expensive investments without a comprehensive evaluation of the associated risks and negative impacts, as necessitated by the principles of sustainability in decision-making.

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Main Authors: O'Shea, Ryan, Capuzzo, Elisa, Hemming, Victoria, Grebe, Gretchen, Stafford, Rick, van den Burg, Sander W.K., Wood, Daniel, Watson, Gordon, Wells, Victoria, Johnson, Teresa, Erbs, Stefan, W. van Hal, Jaap, Binnerts, Bas, Collins, Alexandra M., Howe, Caroline
Format: Article/Letter to editor biblioteca
Language:English
Subjects:Cognitive mapping, Delphi, Impact assessment, Multi-use setting, Seaweed aquaculture, Wind farms,
Online Access:https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/managing-offshore-multi-use-settings-use-of-conceptual-mapping-to
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spelling dig-wur-nl-wurpubs-6292542024-12-04 O'Shea, Ryan Capuzzo, Elisa Hemming, Victoria Grebe, Gretchen Stafford, Rick van den Burg, Sander W.K. Wood, Daniel Watson, Gordon Wells, Victoria Johnson, Teresa Erbs, Stefan W. van Hal, Jaap Binnerts, Bas Collins, Alexandra M. Howe, Caroline Article/Letter to editor Journal of Environmental Management 358 (2024) ISSN: 0301-4797 Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms 2024 The offshore Multi-use Setting (MUS) is a concept that aims to co-locate marine industrial activities, including wind farms and aquaculture. MUS is considered an innovative approach to promoting efficiency in space and resource use whilst contributing global policy priorities. However, the impacts of MUS development across social, economic, and environmental domains are uncertain, hindering the commercialisation of the concept. In this study, we initially demonstrate the potential consequences of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm as a step towards MUS. Using a hypothetical case study and modified Delphi methodology, 14 subject matter experts predicted potential outcomes across social and environmental objectives. Five Cognitive maps and impact tables of 58 potential consequences were generated based on experts' perspective on co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm. The findings highlight the potential to exasperate pressures in the area, including those already attributed to wind farm operations, such as species mortality and stakeholder conflict. However, it may also enhance social-ecological conditions, such as resource provisioning and promoting habitat functionality in the region, through the addition of seaweed aquaculture. The cognitive maps demonstrate the complexity of managing MUS implementation, where high degree of variability and uncertainty about the outcomes is present. The findings of this study provide the vital entry point to performing further integrative assessment and modelling approaches, such as probabilistic analysis and simulations, in support of MUS decision-making. The research also strongly recommends alternative strategies in the pursuit of combining seaweed production and wind farms to avoid significant financial (among many other) trade-offs and risks. More broadly, we have found that our approach's ability to visually represent a complex situation while considering multiple objectives could be immensely valuable for other bioeconomy innovations or nature-based solutions. It helps mitigate the potential for expensive investments without a comprehensive evaluation of the associated risks and negative impacts, as necessitated by the principles of sustainability in decision-making. en application/pdf https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/managing-offshore-multi-use-settings-use-of-conceptual-mapping-to 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120696 https://edepot.wur.nl/656712 Cognitive mapping Delphi Impact assessment Multi-use setting Seaweed aquaculture Wind farms https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research
institution WUR NL
collection DSpace
country Países bajos
countrycode NL
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-wur-nl
tag biblioteca
region Europa del Oeste
libraryname WUR Library Netherlands
language English
topic Cognitive mapping
Delphi
Impact assessment
Multi-use setting
Seaweed aquaculture
Wind farms
Cognitive mapping
Delphi
Impact assessment
Multi-use setting
Seaweed aquaculture
Wind farms
spellingShingle Cognitive mapping
Delphi
Impact assessment
Multi-use setting
Seaweed aquaculture
Wind farms
Cognitive mapping
Delphi
Impact assessment
Multi-use setting
Seaweed aquaculture
Wind farms
O'Shea, Ryan
Capuzzo, Elisa
Hemming, Victoria
Grebe, Gretchen
Stafford, Rick
van den Burg, Sander W.K.
Wood, Daniel
Watson, Gordon
Wells, Victoria
Johnson, Teresa
Erbs, Stefan
W. van Hal, Jaap
Binnerts, Bas
Collins, Alexandra M.
Howe, Caroline
Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
description The offshore Multi-use Setting (MUS) is a concept that aims to co-locate marine industrial activities, including wind farms and aquaculture. MUS is considered an innovative approach to promoting efficiency in space and resource use whilst contributing global policy priorities. However, the impacts of MUS development across social, economic, and environmental domains are uncertain, hindering the commercialisation of the concept. In this study, we initially demonstrate the potential consequences of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm as a step towards MUS. Using a hypothetical case study and modified Delphi methodology, 14 subject matter experts predicted potential outcomes across social and environmental objectives. Five Cognitive maps and impact tables of 58 potential consequences were generated based on experts' perspective on co-locating seaweed aquaculture and a wind farm. The findings highlight the potential to exasperate pressures in the area, including those already attributed to wind farm operations, such as species mortality and stakeholder conflict. However, it may also enhance social-ecological conditions, such as resource provisioning and promoting habitat functionality in the region, through the addition of seaweed aquaculture. The cognitive maps demonstrate the complexity of managing MUS implementation, where high degree of variability and uncertainty about the outcomes is present. The findings of this study provide the vital entry point to performing further integrative assessment and modelling approaches, such as probabilistic analysis and simulations, in support of MUS decision-making. The research also strongly recommends alternative strategies in the pursuit of combining seaweed production and wind farms to avoid significant financial (among many other) trade-offs and risks. More broadly, we have found that our approach's ability to visually represent a complex situation while considering multiple objectives could be immensely valuable for other bioeconomy innovations or nature-based solutions. It helps mitigate the potential for expensive investments without a comprehensive evaluation of the associated risks and negative impacts, as necessitated by the principles of sustainability in decision-making.
format Article/Letter to editor
topic_facet Cognitive mapping
Delphi
Impact assessment
Multi-use setting
Seaweed aquaculture
Wind farms
author O'Shea, Ryan
Capuzzo, Elisa
Hemming, Victoria
Grebe, Gretchen
Stafford, Rick
van den Burg, Sander W.K.
Wood, Daniel
Watson, Gordon
Wells, Victoria
Johnson, Teresa
Erbs, Stefan
W. van Hal, Jaap
Binnerts, Bas
Collins, Alexandra M.
Howe, Caroline
author_facet O'Shea, Ryan
Capuzzo, Elisa
Hemming, Victoria
Grebe, Gretchen
Stafford, Rick
van den Burg, Sander W.K.
Wood, Daniel
Watson, Gordon
Wells, Victoria
Johnson, Teresa
Erbs, Stefan
W. van Hal, Jaap
Binnerts, Bas
Collins, Alexandra M.
Howe, Caroline
author_sort O'Shea, Ryan
title Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
title_short Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
title_full Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
title_fullStr Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
title_full_unstemmed Managing offshore multi-use settings : Use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
title_sort managing offshore multi-use settings : use of conceptual mapping to reduce uncertainty of co-locating seaweed aquaculture and wind farms
url https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/managing-offshore-multi-use-settings-use-of-conceptual-mapping-to
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