Visions of Green and Blue: January 2011

Ironwood Farm – Visiting an Organic Mixed Farm

Ironwood farm sits at the mouth of the Avon River in Hants County, Nova Scotia. The 200 acre farm was purchased by Rupert Jannasch in 2004 from an elderly friend named Stanton Sandford, whose family had been farming the land for three generations. Rupert and his partner Heather Johnson have converted the farm into a certified organic mixed farm where they grow fruit, vegetables and also raise cattle and sheep. The visit to Ironwood farm was a welcomed break from classes. Rupert was a very interesting and informative speaker, who was willing to give honest answers regarding the farming practices used at Ironwood, as well as issues concerning organic certification. He mentioned a number of ideas that I thought were especially interesting, in particular the issues surrounding the disappearance of services on which small scale farms are dependent, the monoculture of tomatoes, and the use of plastic.
The idea of small-scale farms being regulated out of business is a very scary thought. I personally believe that our society is more concerned with buying the cheapest food, no matter where it came from or what it came into contact with while it was growing, being processed and packaged. If we want to keep farmers like Rupert in business there needs to be a big shift in society, where people begin to make connections between what they eat and where it comes from. However, even if the public is able to make the connection, Rupert mentioned that many of the services that small farmers need to remain afloat are disappearing, for example the abattoirs. There are only 28 provincially inspected and 3 federally inspected abattoirs in Nova Scotia (Competitive Transition Analysis Group, 2010), and there are currently no certified organic abattoirs in Atlantic Canada (McMahon, 2010) (lucky for Rupert his beef is not certified organic!). In Ontario, farmers started running into the same problems when the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs began standardizing safety regulations for abattoirs in 2005. Many of the small Ontario abattoirs who service small farms have not been able to comply with regulations or pay for the renovations that are being required for certification
(Meat Trade Daily, n.d.). This will present Rupert with a difficult situation, as he has clients willing to pay extra for the beef he produces; however, if there are no abattoirs around his farm the prices will continue to climb if he has to ship the cattle further away to be processed. Rupert implied that small-scale farming is built on a house of cards, and as soon as one section related to the farming process becomes unstable the whole system seems as though it could collapse.
The greenhouse at Ironwood farms was my favorite part of the tour; I would love to build a greenhouse of my own one day. The technique used of tying the tomato vines to the top bar to allow the plant to grow across the ground and upwards was something that I found very interesting. I was very surprised to see only two variations of tomatoes and a few green peppers growing in the greenhouse. After listening to Rupert speak about the greenhouse I understood that the monoculture tomato crop was his ‘money maker’; however, I couldn’t help but feel as though he was taking a risk of depleting the soil of certain nutrients by planting the same crop of plant year after year. I also found it quite interesting that he was very unhappy about the farmer who was planning on planting his tomato plants in bags full of soil instead of directly into the ground. Personally, I thought that sounded like a very inventive solution, and if it passed all of the organic certification standards, then he’s made one more option available to struggling farmers.
The one aspect of Rupert’s farm that made me a little unsure was his use of plastic. To me, plastic and organic farming seem to be two very clashing ideas. I never would have expected that so much plastic waste would be produced from an organic farm. Seeing it made me wonder; if people who make such a large effort to shop organically knew how much waste was produced to grow their grape tomatoes would they still purchase them? I realize that this may seem like a stretch, but I believe that most people who make the effort to shop organic are also concerned about waste production as well as contaminants. Plastic contaminants is another related area that I think would be interesting to research to see if any studies have been done linking contamination of crops from plastic mulch. I have never worked on a farm so it is hard to judge and perhaps if a better solution was available to organic farmers they might use it, but for now many famers profitability relies on the use of plastics (Ecological Agriculture Program, n.d.).
Overall, as someone who has always lived in the city, I thought that visiting Ironwood farms was a very eye opening experience. Being able to talk to the farmer about some of the pros and cons of farming organically really helped me gain a better appreciation for the practice. It was nice to see how much love and time Rupert had invested into his farm and I think that it would be a great shame if he, or any other dedicated organic farmer, was put out of business due to over regulation or because they were not able to make enough money. As a society we should be supporting these organic farmers, who are trying to make the world a healthier place for us.

References

Competitive Transition Analysis Group Committee (2010). Final report. Retrieved from ww.gov.ns.ca/agri/elibrary/CTAG-rpt-final.pdf
Ecological Agriculture Program (n.d.) Our love-hate affair with plastics. Retrieved from http://eap.mcgill.ca/PCMPC_3.htm
Johnson, H. (2010). Ironwood Farm, musings from the barnyard and beyond. Retrieved from http://ironwoodfarm.wordpress.com/
McMahon, B. (2010). Value added, resources for organic farms and business in the Maritimes. Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network Co-op LTD. Retrieved from www.acornorganic.org/pdf/valueadded.pdf
Meat Trade Daily News (2010). Canada - putting the small abattoir out of business. Retrieved from http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/040210/canada___putting_the_small_abattoir_out_of_business_.aspx
Sooksom, R. (2010). A guide for beginning farmers in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia: Department of Agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/thinkfarm/

Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and the Iceberg Model

Labels: fisheries, hypoxia, ocean

Hypoxia is a term used to describe an environmental phenomenon where very low levels of oxygen become present in a water column. These areas are known as ‘hypoxic zones’ or ‘dead zones’ (LUMCON, 2010). Hypoxia is primarily a problem for estuaries and coastal waters and are indicated by the areas having dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than 2-3 ppm (Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, 2010). Hypoxic areas have naturally occurred throughout history; however, it was not until recently that dead zones began appearing in shallow coastal and estuarine areas (NOAA, 2009). One of the causes of hypoxia in these areas today is nutrient over-enrichment (nitrogen and phosphorus) from anthropogenic sources (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Assessment, 2003). The nutrients are used to encourage plant growth on the farm, once in the Gulf these nutrients fertilize the growth of algae, which soon die, settle to the seafloor, and decay. Bacteria feeding on the algal corpses consume such a large amount of oxygen that the water becomes unsuitable for most forms of life (Raloff, 2004). Some of the major effects of hypoxia include: long term weakening of species also stressed by overfishing, habitat loss, long-term changes in ecology, and economic loss (ESA, n.d.). Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico has emerged as a major area of environmental concern for the U.S. The size of the dead zone fluctuates throughout any given year, with the largest dead zones appearing in the warm summer months (NOAA, 2009). The largest dead zone in the world is found in the Baltic Sea (Larsen, 2004), while the annual hypoxic area in the Gulf is the second biggest in the world and is believed to be caused primarily by excess nutrients delivered from the Mississippi River in combination with seasonal stratification of Gulf waters (USGS, 2010). Approximately forty one percent of the land area of the continental US (1.2 million square miles) drains into the Mississippi River basin (NOAA, 2009). The average size the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is approximately 17,000 square km, roughly the size of Lake Ontario, but has reached sizes of approximately 22,000 square km (LUMCON, 2010). It has been estimated that together, the cities, suburbs, and farms along the Mississippi River watershed contribute 90% of the nutrient flow into the Gulf of Mexico (ESA, n.d.). There has been a great deal of scientific research concerning the causes of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico; however, there is a lack of information regarding the underlying issues that affect hypoxia, such as American policy which allows large amounts of nitrogen to be used on crops, increased agricultural demands from farmers due to issues relating to cheap food and food security, the correlation between social dependence on corn and the corn growing areas being located along the Mississippi River watershed, farmers having to try to make farming a feasible career option, global warming, fishers being effected by low catch levels, etc. All of these issues play a role in the larger system of the Gulf and need to be accounted for to develop and implement a successful management plan.
The Iceberg model takes a close look at the various parts of a system and how they come together to work as a whole. The model states that similar to an iceberg, 90% of the issues surrounding a problem remain unseen. The major event represents the 10% that
we see above water, whereas below the water there are issues such as trends and
patterns, structure and mental models all of which need to be taken into account (Yates, n.d.). The objective of the model is to understand that things within a system influence one another within a whole, and that it is easier to understand a system by looking at the relationships between the parts rather than looking at them in isolation (Ambler, 2006). Using the Iceberg model to examine the issue of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico will allow managers to take a closer look at the social, political, and economic issues that are embedded in the American system, which affect the Gulf of Mexico as a whole. In the past, these underlying issues have prevented managers from developing successful plans to control this environmental issue. The Iceberg model will help to uncover the interrelationships between outside factors that contribute to the overall system of the Gulf of Mexico, which will bring these factors to light and uncover the patterns of change within the system and help us work towards a positive management solution.
Over the years the size of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has varied, which is a result of a variety of reasons, including amount of rainfall, temperature and the amount of sunshine, and most importantly the amount of nutrients that have been applied to crops along the Mississippi river. Each of these issues on their own present difficulties for the Gulf. Higher rainfall results in increased runoff from farm fields, large amounts of sunlight warms the water and provides energy for algae growth, and excess nutrients applied to crops wash into rivers and streams and end up in the Gulf. When these issues are looked at together as part of the overall system, it becomes clear that in combination these three elements present a large hurdle that the Gulf must overcome to return to a healthy normoxic state. The pattern of these three elements contributing to the growth of the dead zone is apparent when we start to look at how things have been changing as gulf pollution increases. Global warming is an important issue that is causing worldwide change and playing a part in the growth of the Gulf dead zone. As the world’s climate continues to rise in temperature, the sun becomes stronger which increases the stratification of the water column and as a result the algae are provided with more energy to thrive on (Diaz, 2008). As the temperature continues to increase globally we will see more instances of algae blooms, which is a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system (Science Daily, 2010), resulting in larger dead zones. It is also believed that global warming will affect rainfall. Increased rainfall will result in more flooding and higher volumes of runoff (Water Encyclopedia, 2010). It has been noted that in years of drought the hypoxic area decreases and increases during years of flood (Rabalais, 2001). More rain will also present negative effects to agricultural production as it will cause more soil erosion, which implies relatively less soil infiltration (Water Encyclopedia, 2010). A slight possibility does exist of climate change helping to ease hypoxia. If the weather becomes stormier it could mix the fresh and salt water decreasing stratification, which would help to limit the risk of oxygen depletion. The mixing that would occur through storms would not be enough to eliminate hypoxic zones, only dissipate them for a short time (Diaz, 2008). Aside from increased temperatures and higher rainfalls, the Gulf has also had to deal with the large amounts of nitrogen that runs off of the agricultural crops, estimated at approximately 1.5 million metric tons annually (Greenhalgh, 2001). Over the years farmers have been applying more nitrogen rich fertilizer than their crops need to avoid the possibility of any decreased productivity (Raloff, 2004). Nutrient influxes in estuaries have increased up to tenfold since the beginning of this century, with the greatest increase occurring after 1950 (Greenhalgh, 2001). It has been estimated that nitrate releases throughout the Mississippi River watershed would have to be cut in half from current amounts to significantly minimize the annual Gulf dead zone (Raloff, 2004). According to the NOAA (2009) “Recent research suggests that more hypoxia is resulting from the same level of nutrients going in to the water” (p. 2), which suggests that there has been such a large shift in the system which will make it harder to shrink the size of the dead zone (NOAA, 2009). The large amounts of excess nutrients entering into the Gulf is linked not only to hypoxia but also habitat loss, fish kills, and blooms of toxic algae (NOAA, 2008). Aside from issues related to climate change and excess nutrients, hypoxia has also created a pattern of change within the fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is the source of 72 percent of the total U.S. harvested shrimp, 66 percent of the harvested oysters, and 16 percent of the U.S. commercial fish harvest (News & Views, 1999). The hypoxic area in the Gulf of Mexico appears in the same place as shrimp habitat and shrimp fishing grounds. Studies have found that the hypoxic areas are having a negative effect on the shrimp fishery (Zimmerman, 2001 & O’Connor, 2007) and that the catch per unit of effort for brown shrimp in the Gulf has trended down since the late 1970’s (Zimmerman, 2001). This is unfortunate news not only for the species itself, but also for the fishermen and the economy, to which the fishery generates $2.8 billion annually (NCDDC, 2010). Effects of hypoxia on fishery resources include direct mortality, altered migration, reduction in suitable habitat, increased susceptibility to predation (including by humans), changes in food resources, and disruption of life cycles (Rabalais, 2001).
There are many variables within the structure of the American political, economic, and social systems that have played a role in the continued destruction of the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. government has created limits for major releases of nitrate into the environment because high concentrations can be toxic to wildlife and humans; however, low, diffuse nitrate emissions, from such sources as farm runoff are largely unregulated (Raloff, 2004). Aside from limited federal regulation there are also issues with localized legislation and few agricultural subsidy incentives for land stewardship, which are preventing action being taken to resolve the issue of the dead zone (Mississippi 1, 2010). This lack of regulation results in nutrient concentration in waterways where they damage ecosystem and increase the risk of hypoxia (Raloff, 2004). In 1994 the U.S. government recognized that a problem existed in the Gulf of Mexico and passed the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (NOAA. 2004). In 1997 the Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force (a branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) was established to study the causes and effects of
eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico; coordinate activities to reduce the size, severity, and duration of the dead zone; and to improve the effects of hypoxia (Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, 2010). In 2001 The Task Force released the Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico to assist with the management of the problem, which was updated in 2008 (Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, 2010). However, despite the recognition of the problem, according to the NOAA (2007) “management of the dead zone is hampered by poor understanding of the quantitative relationship between hypoxia and populations of commercially and recreationally important living resources”. Agricultural runoff into the Gulf of Mexico is difficult to regulate and manage because there is such a large number of sources and it has been found that individual producers do not always recognize their own contribution to the larger problem (Hudson et al. 2005). It is also difficult to create new policies that reduce the amount of fertilizer used as it is a key input that has enabled U.S. agriculture to achieve its present capability for producing vast quantities of inexpensive food, such as corn, wheat, and sorghum (Papendick, 1987). Corn is a high nitrogen-demanding crop and has become a key element of the American food supply, which has increased the number of problems for the Gulf as the Corn Belt states in the upper Mississippi are the largest contributors of nitrate and phosphate pollution in the river (1 Mississippi, 2010). Using the example of corn production, it is easy to see how the dead zone of the Gulf of Mexico is closely related to the social, economic, and political structures of America; consumers demand vast amounts of low-cost food; the government continues to subsidize corn to keep prices low and to keep other products such as beef or high-fructose corn syrup cheap (MacLean, 2002); and the farmers are forced to grow large crops that can materialize quickly, which increases the amount of fertilizer used. Due to the fact that the application of nutrients on crops for food production has become such an large factor for food production for the U.S. it is important to realize that the complete elimination of fertilizers is unrealistic and that policy makers and managers need to look at ways to improve nitrogen efficiency to minimize environmental damage and costs to farmers (Papendick, 1987). The fact that the U.S. ranks among the richest and most powerful nations in the world has created a disconnect between the American lifestyle and the effects that this lifestyle has on the environment. When an entire nation’s society depends on cheap and abundant food, stress is placed on all of the systems that are connected to food production, and one of those systems happens to be the Gulf of Mexico. To effectively combat the dead zone in the Gulf the general public needs to become aware and educated on the topic of hypoxia. In a recent study, when asked the question “Have you heard of hypoxia or the hypoxic zone” only 12.4% of respondents reported awareness, showing that in fact, many Americans are unaware that their current lifestyle is having a major effect on the global environment (Hudson et al, 2005). These negative patterns of lack of government and public involvement have increased the size of the dead zone over the years, but could be resolved with the implementation of stronger policy and increased public education.
These political, economic, and social structures have remained in place, causing the dead zone to grow, due to the fact the majority of American citizens have given up their voice and allowed industry and government to make decisions for the individual. Industry has accepted this offering of power and now makes the bulk of decisions that affect communities and individuals alike. North Americans live in a consumer driven society which can be manipulated by mass media (Brooks, 2007), and in many cases to go against the grain results in a negative image. This results in the creation of a passive society, where having a 61.6% voter turnout is considered to be a good year (US Elections Project, 2010). We live in an age where life is fast paced and to keep up we have made certain sacrifices: overpopulated cities, fast food, excessive amounts of waste and pollution, etc. With all of these sacrifices public stakeholders should be taking greater responsibility and getting more involved and taking greater action. When industry bombards consumers with ads and images of cheap corn based products instead of rushing out to buy a big mac, American citizens need to take a step back and be able to make the association between the products and the effects that they are having on their personal and environmental health. Stakeholders need to assume their rights and demand improved environmental conditions concerning food production. Stakeholders need to demand increased government policy surrounding land use and water quality. Finally, stakeholders need to demand improved management plans of the Mississippi River basin. The cycle of applying excessive nutrients to crops, causing runoff into the river, which ends up in the Gulf, where hypoxia forms, needs to become a household issue if it is to be resolved. By applying pressure on fellow stakeholders, government, and industry it will become evident that land use and water quality are issues that citizens must be involved in during the discussion and decision-making process. Stewardship, the efforts to create, nurture, and enable responsibility in landowners and resource users to manage and protect land and its natural and cultural heritage (Brown, 2000), is an important approach that can help minimize issues in the Gulf. To be effective environmental stewardship must become closely intertwined with American culture. Environmental stewardship can help rekindle the feeling of community and encourage others to take action and responsibility for the health of their water. In the end it is up to the average citizen to transform the existing social beliefs by becoming more aware of the issues and areas of concern that industry and government make decisions on without consulting the general public. Without the acceptance of responsibility for the current environmental situation of the planet, stakeholders need to realize that in the end they are the people that must deal with the outcome of the final decisions that are made.
Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico has grown at an alarming rate over the past 50 years
and will continue to do so if the political, social, and economic systems involved in the Gulf of Mexico do not change. The Iceberg model has allowed for a closer look at the topic of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and has revealed that this environmental concern goes beyond the scientific issues consistently mentioned in research, but also includes a deeply rooted interrelationship with the social system involving the citizens and their lack of acceptance of environmental stewardship. In the past, management of the Gulf was focused on the scientific aspects that affect the dead zone, such as weather, rainfall, and nutrient runoff. The social, political, and economic structures within the American system also play a large role in the management, or lack of management of the Gulf and must be addressed to develop a suitable management plan. These structures have remained in place due to the beliefs held by the American citizens, in terms of their ability to take action in regards to decisions that are being made by industry and government, which affect the environmental system of America. In the end, the issue of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico exists because of the dependence on cheap food and America’s push to produce crops as quickly as possible with reliance on fertilizer and limited policy protecting the environment from these issues. In order to ensure proper management of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico it is up to the citizens of the U.S. to take the initiative and become educated on the subject and involved in the decision-making process.

References

Ambler, G. (2006). Systems thinking as a leadership practice. Retrieved from http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/01/14/systems-thinking-as-a-leadership-practice/
Brooks, K. (2007). The modern consumer: Overtaxed, overwhelmed, and overdrawn. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.ca/robarts/projects/gradpapers/pdf/ Brooks_Modern _Consumer.pdf
Brown, J. & Brent, M. (2000). The stewardship approach and its relevance for protected landscapes. The George Wright Forum, 17(1), 70-79
Diaz, R. & Rosenberg, R. (2008). Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321(1), 926-929.
Ecological Society of America (ESA). (n.d.). Hypoxia. Retrieved from http://www.esa.org/ education_diversity/pdfDocs/hypoxia.pdf
Greenhalgh, S., & Faeth, P. (2001). A potential integrated water quality strategy for the Mississippi River Basin and the Gulf of Mexico. The Scientific World Journal, 1, 976-983.
Hudson, D., Hite, D., & Haab, T. (2005). Public perception of agricultural pollution and Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Coastal Management, 33(1), 25-36.
Larsen, J. (2004). Dead zones in the world’s ocean. Retrieved from http://www.theglobalist. com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3993
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). (2010). Hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from, http://www.gulfhypoxia.net/News/
MacLean, M. (2002). When corn is king. Retrieved from, http://www.csmonitor.com/ 2002/1031/p17s01-lihc.html
Mississippi 1. (2010). Corn Belt Governor plants seed for change, opens discussion on fertilizer pollution in the River. Retrieved from, http://www.1mississippi.net/river-citizen-forums/mississippi-river-news/corn-belt-governor-plants-seed-change-opens-discussion-f
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force. (2010). Hypoxia 101. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/msbasin/
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Assessment. (2003). Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Progress towards the completion of an Integrated Assessment. Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/products/pubs_hypox.html
National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC). (2010). The Problem of Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from http://ecowatch.ncddc.noaa.gov/hypoxia/moreinfo
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2004). Harmful algal bloom and hypoxia research and control act. Retrieved from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/redtide/pdfs/habhrca_fact_sheet.pdf
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2007). Ecological Impacts of Hypoxia on Living Resources Workshop. Retrieved from http://www.ngi.msstate.edu/ hypoxia/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2008). Oxygen depletion in Coastal waters. Retrieved from http://state_of_coast.noaa.gov/bulletins/html/hyp_09/hyp .html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2009). Dead Zones, Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from www.noaa.gov/factsheets/new%20version/dead_ zones.pdf
News and Views. (1999). Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and fertilization facts. Retrieved from http://www.back-to-basics.net/fertilityfacts/pdf_files/99176-Hypoxia.pdf
O’Connor, T. & Whitall D. (2007). Linking hypoxia to shrimp catch in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from, linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S002532 6X07000434
Papendick R., Lloyd F. & Power J. (1987). Alternative production systems to reduce nitrates in ground water. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 2(1), 19-24.
Rabalais, N., Turner, R., & Wiseman, W. (2001). Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Environmental Quality, 30(2), 320-329.
Rabalais, N. & Turner, E. (2007). Causes of Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia. Retrieved from http://www.ngi.msstate.edu/hypoxia/marchPresentations/RabalaisCauses.pdf
Raloff, J. (2004). Limiting dead zones - How to curb river pollution and save the Gulf of Mexico. Science News, 165(24), 378-380.
Science Daily. (2010). Algal Blooms. Retreieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/ articles /a/algal_bloom.htm
Steele, G., Johnsonb, H., Sandstrome, M., Capeld, P. & Barbashe, J. (2007). Occurrence and fate of pesticides in four contrasting agricultural settings in the United States. Journal of Environmental Quality. 37(3), 1116-1132.
United States Elections Project. (2010). 2008 General Election Turnout rates. Retrieved from http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html
United States Geological Survey. (2010). The Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone. Retrieved from http://toxics.usgs.gov/hypoxia/hypoxic_zone.html
Water Encyclopedia Science and Issues. (2010). Global warming and the hydrologic cycle. Retrieved from, http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ge-Hy/Global-Warming-and-the-Hydrologic-Cycle.html
Yates, J. & Davidson, A. (n.d.). Seeing below the surface: Systems thinking. Retrieved from http://www.watersfoundation.org/webed/library/articles/STarticle-07.pdf
Zimmerman, R., Nance, J. (2001). Coastal hypoxia: Consequences for living resources and ecosystems. Coastal Estuarine Studies, 53, 293-310.

(This paper was written for my Management Without Borders class.)

Canada's Oceans Action Plan

Labels: ocean

Below is a Plan Evaluation which I had to do for one of my classes. I chose to evaluate Canada's Oceans Action Plan:

Canada’s Oceans Action Plan

1. Introduction

In the management world, plans are necessary to help develop new ideas and to enact change. They allow us to look at current situations, try to assess the challenges that managers face and what is needed to resolve current issues, as well as to determine what is working within a system. For this project we have been asked to review and evaluate a management plan to try to determine what is and is not working the chosen plan. I have chosen to look at Canada’s Oceans Action Plan (OAP), which focuses on coordinating and implementing ocean activities, including related legislation and policy. The OAP also acts as the framework to sustainably develop and manage Canada’s oceans. Within this report I plan on determining what aspects of the plan work in its favour as well as uncover any issues that may present themselves. I will also assess whether these issues may hinder the performance of the plan or if they could be resolved to allow managers to use the plan successfully.

2. The Oceans Action Plan

The OAP was developed in 2005 in response to the challenges that current managers were facing under the Oceans Act. The Oceans Act was passed in 1996 and the Oceans Strategy was passed in 2002. The Oceans Act deals with issues of conservation and development and is founded on three principles: 1) Sustainable Development 2) Integrated Management, and 3) Precautionary Approach (DFO, 2005). However, even after the implementation of the Oceans Act, we continued to see poor governance of Canadian oceans; for example declining fish stocks (the continued misinterpretation of the cod stock after the collapse), ocean user conflicts (the dispute over the ‘Grey Zone’ lobster fishery between Canada and the U.S.) and a weakening oceans industry sector (the government had to provide a $65 million investment to the Atlantic lobster fishery in 2009). With all of these negative issues surrounding the management of the oceans, the Government realized that action needed to be taken and so the OAP was developed. The Plan is applied to all three oceans that border the Canadian coastline (Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic), which measures approximately 244,000km. Canada’s total ocean estate covers approximately 7.1 million square kilometers, which is equivalent to approximately 70% of Canada’s landmass (DFO, 2010). In the first section of the Oceans Action Plan, there is a brief overview of Canada’s oceans and their important role to the country, as well as some of the legislation that is directly involved with the governance of the oceans. The plan states that it has committed to managing our oceans wisely, as they play such an important role in the environmental, social, cultural, and economic aspects of Canadian’s lives. The plan will be implemented in phases, with the first phase taking 24 months to build the foundation for future success, beginning with integrated management under the Oceans Act, as well as focusing on ecosystem science to improve marine environment management. The second section of the OAP talks about how it is based on four pillars: 1) International Leadership, Sovereignty and Security; 2) Integrated Oceans Management for Sustainable Development; 3) Health of Oceans and; 4) Ocean Science and Technology, all of which are discussed in detail in terms of how they are applied to each of Canada’s three oceans. The third section of the plan talks about the four pillars discussed in the second phase and the 18 initiatives that are being implemented under the pillars during Phase I of the Oceans Action Plan.

3. Evaluation

3.1 Vision and general goals of ocean management

The goal of the OAP is to develop and implement an integrated management system that can be applied to all Canadian oceans. By using an integrated management system based on both ecosystem and precautionary approaches, the government wants to achieve a healthy, productive ocean system for the future, and to continue developing the ocean economy. This plan is a step in the right direction for Canada in terms of taking action and trying to develop a management plan that will help us to sustain and protect one of our most integral resources, our oceans. However, this plan is too broad and all encompassing. There are too many departments, communities and individuals involved in the implementation of the plan; I feel as though any data that will come out of the plan will become lost in a sea of information. The plan is too large and requires such a large sum of money that to fund Phase II (which requested hundreds of millions of dollars) seems like a long shot. It would have been more realistic to develop individual plans for each maritime region, or each initiative to ensure smaller amounts of funding required for each individual section instead of one large sum.

3.2 Description of ocean management under OAP and current state of knowledge

The ecosystems that are being managed under the OAP are Canada’s oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic). The Oceans Act was passed in 1996 and the Oceans Strategy in 2002. Even with these policies in place, Canada has fallen far behind other developed nations when it comes to meeting its ocean strategy commitments. Throughout the plan it is stated that “Canada will continue to play a leadership role in international oceans management”(p. 11); however, when it comes to issues such as Marine Protected Areas (MAPs), Canada lacks initiative. Canada has legally protected less than 1% of its marine environment, while Australia and the U.S. federally designated MPAs are 32 and 16 times larger than Canada’s, respectively (Living Oceans Society, 2008). The Canadian government is required under national and international law to establish a network of MAPs by 2012 (CPAWS, 2008), and even with the OAP in place, that goal is looking unattainable. This is only one example of how the Canadian government has not played a leadership role in ocean conservation and management, as it claims it does.

3.3 Details of and commitment to monitoring, evaluation and research activities

Under the OAP there are 18 interrelated initiatives under four pillars. Each of these 18 initiatives focuses on a specific area or issue in Canadian oceans and was allocated a portion of the $28.4 million that was used to fund the project. Each initiative will be monitored for 24 months and the collected data will be used to assess current management practices, as well as to help work towards the long-term objectives of the Oceans Act. Seven governmental departments and agencies were involved with the funding and monitoring of the initiatives. There is no discussion in the plan of how the monitoring and data collection was going to be standardized across the seven departments and 18 initiatives. There was also no mention of the inclusion of some sort of progress report from each initiative, which would have been helpful to determine whether the initiatives were on track over the course of the 24 months. The plan also fails to mention whether during the research if it included Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge (ATK), or local fishermen knowledge, which is an important issue in terms of the collection of important applicable knowledge as well as the inclusion of the local community in the project.

4. Conclusion

Overall the Oceans Action Plan shows that the Canadian government realizes the importance and the necessity of developing a successful management plan that will accomplish the goals set out in the Oceans Act. The government has taken the initiative to try to develop a plan that takes each of the three oceans into account, as well as some of the important and sensitive areas in those oceans (the 18 initiatives). Phase I of the plan was completed in just over the 24 months; however, Phase II has not received the funding to continue on with the project. With the completion of Phase I, some critical data were collected and important lessons learned, yet no solidified management plan for the oceans was developed. In the end I believe that the Oceans Action Plan has greatly helped Canadian ocean research, and that a lot of the studies that were made possible due to the funding from the OAC would have never taken place under any other circumstances. However, I believe that it would have been easier to determine a successful management approach if the $28.4 million had been allocated to individual plans developed by regions, and that those plans would have had a better chance at receiving funding for ‘Phase II’. If the plans had been developed in this manner, there could have been a possibility of using the information and data collected to develop a final plan to determine the proper management approach for Canadian oceans.

References

Department of Fisheries and Oceans. (2005). Canada’s Ocean Action Plan. Retrieved from http://www.omrnrrgo.ca/docs/main/Oceans%20Action%20Plan% 20for%20Present%20&%20Future%20Generations%20-%20English.pdf

CPAWS. (2008). Challenges and opportunities in progress towards Canada’s commitment to a national network of MPAs by 2012. Retrieved from http://www.cpaws.org/files/report_mythandmadness.PDF

Department of Fisheries and Oceans. (2010). Canada’s ocean estate
a description of Canada’s maritime zones. Retrieved from http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/canadasoceans-oceansducanada/marinezones-zonesmarines-eng.htm

Department of Fisheries and Oceans. (2010). Formative evaluation of the oceans action plan – Phase 1. Retrieved from http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ae-ve/evaluations/07-08/6B048-eng.htm

Department of Fisheries and Oceans. (2010). St. John’s 2005 conference – another step in stopping global overfishing. Retrieved from http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fgc-cgp/index_e.htm

Living Oceans Society. (2008). New marine protected areas report card gives Canada a failing grade. Retrieved from http://www.livingocea ns.org/media/news06060801.aspx

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2010). RPP 2006-2007
fisheries and oceans Canada. Retrieved from http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2006-2007/fo-po/fo-po01-eng.asp