A NOVEL APPROACH INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC & TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE Developing syntheses across audiences and management perspectives can help to achieve consensus on solutions to the challenges of ecosystem change.60,61 This project used two approaches: firstly a science synthesis workshop that used conceptual diagrams of different habitats to combine the technical knowledge of social and natural scientists to synthesize current understanding of community vulnerability and its linkages to ecosystem functions and ecosystem services for each habitat.61 Secondly, community workshops that relied on participatory mapping to assess “traditional ecological knowledge” within coastal communities, building on conceptual diagrams developed during the science synthesis workshop were carried out.61 The results of both technical scientific and community workshops are highlighted throughout the report.
SOCIAL & ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE WORKSHOP In October 2015, a one-day technical scientific workshop included 44 natural and social scientists with expertise in the diverse ecologies, economies, and socio-cultural histories of coastal Louisiana. The workshop focused on gathering information on the ecological and socio-cultural functions, constraints, and values of seven coastal habitats: forested wetlands, marsh, aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, open water, mangrove stands, and barrier island complex. Information from the workshop is synthesized in the coastal habitat sections. The workshop also provided a valuable opportunity for cross-disciplinary exchange. In a follow-up survey, several participants acknowledged that cross-disciplinary conversations help to pull science “out of silos,” recontextualizing ecological restoration projects within the context of how they “affect people and communities, and not just as things made of sediment, water, plants, and animals” (Science workshop participant, October 2015).
Workshop to gather information on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services of seven coastal ecosystems (top + bottom); Example input from natural and social scientists on each coastal ecosystem (middle).
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“The benefits of this type of workshop are that scientists from many disciplines share multiple perspectives and work off each other’s knowledge to better inform potential action.” Social + ecosystem science workshop participant, October 2015