About this course: Focusing on the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the world, this course will introduce the concept and practice of ecosystem-based management. LMEs occupy areas of coastal ocean at least 200 000 km² or greater in size. These coastal waters produce 12.6 trillion USD in ecosystem goods and services annually and are vitally important for billions of people around the globe. Because LMEs are bounded by ocean features and are globally linked, management of human activities needs to occur in an integrated fashion across political boundaries and economic sectors (e.g. fishing, shipping, energy, tourism, and mining.) This represents a new type of management approached - shifting from single sector-based to multi-sector assessment and management within the spatial domain of the world's 66 Large Marine Ecosystems. There is global high-level support for this new approach and in this course, we will introduce the concepts and tools for assessing and managing LMEs. Together, leaders and experts in a global movement to recover and sustain the goods and services of LMEs will introduce you to the mechanisms used for assessment (Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis), planning and implementation (Strategic Action Programme). Based on recent activities in implementation and practice of the LME approach in 22 projects around the globe, we will showcase examples of effective management at this scale, and highlight the challenges and issues. By the end of the online course, we hope you will be able to actively use this knowledge to advance sustainable development of the world’s oceans. The course was created with the support and input of: the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), UNESCO-IOC and IW:LEARN.
Who is this class for: The primary audience will be working professionals involved in management of Large Marine Ecosystems in Africa and the rest of the world. Others who would find this course useful are people involved in policy making, environmental regulation and management. Lastly, this course should be taken by anyone wishing to broaden their disciplinary scope in the field of ecosystem-based management.
Taught by: Coleen Moloney, Associate Professor
Marine Research Institute
| Level | Intermediate |
| Commitment | This course has been designed to be taken over six weeks, involving 3-4 hours per week. |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
- Reading: Meet the course team
- Discussion Prompt: Tell us about yourself and your role
- Video: Welcome to the course
- Reading: How this course works
- Reading: A global collaboration
- Reading: What to expect in Week 1
- Video: What is marine ecosystem-based management?
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Ecosystem based management
- Video: What are LMEs?
- Ungraded Plugin: The LME Approach
- Ungraded Plugin: Turning the Tide: Sustaining Earth's Large Marine Ecosystems
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Large Marine Ecosystems
- Video: Introducing the five module approach
- Video: A brief introduction to the tools (TDA & SAP)
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Five Module approach
- Video: Dr Sherman's perspective on week 1
- Reading: Week 1 additional resources
- Video: Week 1 wrap-up
- Discussion Prompt: Exploring LMEs
- Discussion Prompt: Copy of Exploring LMEs
- Reading: What to expect in week 2
- Video: The productivity module
- Reading: Introducing the videos of the Plankton Chronicles Project
- Ungraded Plugin: Plankton Chronicles: Diatoms
- Ungraded Plugin: The Plankton Chronicles - Plankton of the Riviera
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Productivity quiz
- Video: The fish and fisheries module
- Reading: Resources on fisheries
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Fish and Fisheries quiz
- Video: Pollution and ecosystem health
- Video: Plastic pollution
- Reading: Resources on pollution
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Pollution and Ecosystem Health quiz
- Video: Dr Sherman's perspectives
- Reading: Resources and readings
- Video: Week 2 wrap up
- Discussion Prompt: Fish and Fisheries debates
- Reading: What to expect in week 3
- Video: Socioeconomics module
- Ungraded Plugin: Economic valuation in a Large Marine Ecosystem
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Socioeconomics module quiz
- Video: Governance module
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Governance module quiz
- Video: Dr Sherman's Perspectives
- Reading: Resources and readings
- Video: Week three wrap up
- Discussion Prompt: Ecosystem valuation debates
- Reading: Additional readings on the Five Modules
- Reading: What to expect in week 4
- Video: Transboundary diagnostic analsysis
- Video: Strategic Action Programme
- Ungraded Plugin: Applying the TDA-SAP process
- Ungraded Plugin: Bay of Bengal LME - the TDA-SAP approach
- Ungraded Plugin: Black Sea LME - the TDA-SAP approach
- Reading: Reading and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: TDA-SAP approach quiz
- Video: Other tools
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: Tools quiz
- Video: Dr Sherman's perspectives
- Reading: Resources and readings
- Video: Week 4 wrap up
- Discussion Prompt: Sustainable Development Goals
- Reading: What to expect in week 5
- Video: The Global Environment Facility
- Ungraded Plugin: More about GEF
- Video: The LME network of partners
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: GEF and the LME Network of Partners quiz
- Video: The GEF project process
- Reading: Readings and Key Points
- Practice Quiz: GEF project process quiz
- Video: Dr Sherman's perspectives
- Reading: Resources and readings
- Video: Week five wrap up
- Discussion Prompt: Partnerships for LME projects
- Reading: What to expect in week 6
- Video: Benguela Current LME
- Reading: Benguela Current LME - reading and resources
- Video: The Yellow Sea LME Project
- Video: The Yellow Sea LME - Implementing the SAP
- Video: The Yellow Sea LME - Governance
- Reading: The Yellow Sea LME - reading and resources
- Video: The Guinea Current LME Project
- Video: The Guinea Current LME Commission
- Reading: The Guinea Current LME Project readings
- Reading: The Canary Current LME
- Ungraded Plugin: Case study: Canary Current LME
- Reading: The Gulf of Mexico LME
- Ungraded Plugin: Case study: Gulf of Mexico LME
- Reading: Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+) Project
- Ungraded Plugin: Case study: Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf LME (CLME+) Project - audio
- Reading: The Bay of Bengal LME
- Reading: The Humboldt Current LME
- Video: Dr Sherman's Perspectives
- Video: Talking to Dr Sherman about LMEs making a difference
- Ungraded Plugin: Building partnerships
- Reading: Resources and readings
- Discussion Prompt: LME projects
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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This course is amazing and so needed nowadays. Fully recommended!
Very recommendable course, with high quality teaching classes and a wide knowledge offer from ecosystem characteristics to effective marine management. Very easy to follow, starting from the basics in the first weeks and going deeper and more difficult in the study while advancing in time. Tasks and activities very challenging and interesting, the best ones those qualified by the other students of the course. A really good learning experience!
I have enjoyed the course very much. It is well structures and offer a good overview of the various steps towards EBM of LMEs. It is also a great source of information and references about current TDA-SAP efforts in various LMEs. The graded activities are interesting and provide the opportunity to work more specifically on one or 2 examples of TDA-SAP. The grading process it self is a bit difficult as each question is sort of a good or bad options only , there is no room to provide a more refined assessment such as yes main elements were provided but failed to fully answer the question and deserve a 3/4 grade but choice is only 0/4 or 4/4. The feedback we get from the graded activities is therefore limited.
LV
This programme is quite impressive. As a student, I often finished my work during last minutes. But the way it i structured and created, I find my self learning many concepts and enjoying it too. It is a well developed and amazing way of learning and teaching. I hope that some else tries it, as my first online course, it definitely won't be my last. Thank you to all the members of the LME.