Integrative Assessment of Marine Systems published overview paperInternal

This paper was written following a DEVOTES-EuroMarine Summer School activity in 2015 on the integrative assessment of marine systems. Traditional and emerging human activities are increasingly putting pressures on marine ecosystems and impacting their ability to sustain ecological and human communities. To evaluate the health status of marine ecosystems we need a science-based, integrated Ecosystem Approach, that incorporates knowledge of ecosystem function and services provided that can be used to track how management decisions change the health of marine ecosystems. Here the autors review five existing methods that address both monitoring and assessment needs: the Ecosystem Health Assessment Tool; a method for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the Bay of Biscay; the Ocean Health Index(OHI); the Marine Biodiversity Assessment Tool, and the Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool.