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Judith Floor presents at the Symposium Cumulative Effects in Marine Ecosystems

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June 30, 2016

On the 1st of July, Judith Floor, will present her research at the Symposium Cumulative Effects in Marine Ecosystems, organised by the NIOZ and the Wadden Academy. Her presentation is titled Which cumulative effects? – Effect assessments at science-policy boundaries.

This presentation will focus on the political aspect of cumulative effects. Acknowledging that assessments take place on the science-policy boundary and involve both value and knowledge aspects. The value aspect of effect assessments will be illustrated by the mussel seed fishery and powerboat race controversies. These controversies were based on value differences, however, the debates concentrated on uncertainty and scientific arguments. Only uncertainty of incomplete knowledge was explicitly addressed, excluding ambiguity of values and unpredictability of the actual ecosystem. Based on these insights of science-policy dynamics, for effective dealing with cumulative effects the political aspect needs to be acknowledged.

This presentation is based on the published research: Floor et al. (2016) Uncertainties in the assessment of “significant effect” on the Dutch Natura 2000 Wadden Sea site – The mussel seed fishery and powerboat race controversies, Environmental Science & Policy, 55, p.380-392

The presentation is filmed and can be watched here.