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1 1.10 Application of estuarine and coastal classifications in marine ...

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government <strong>and</strong> non-governmental management obligations related to directives, conventions,<br />

statutes <strong>and</strong> other <strong>in</strong>ternational, national <strong>and</strong> regional <strong>in</strong>itiatives (e.g., R<strong>of</strong>f <strong>and</strong> Taylor 2000,<br />

Kendall et al. 2002, Harris et al. 2002, Hiscock et al. 2003, Madden et al. 2005, Connor et al.<br />

2006 <strong>and</strong> other examples <strong>in</strong> this chapter).<br />

With the rapid emergence <strong>of</strong> mar<strong>in</strong>e spatial plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> spatially explicit ecosystembased<br />

management approaches, resource management agencies <strong>and</strong> conservation groups are<br />

<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly utiliz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>classifications</strong> to support geographical priority sett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> improv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>in</strong>formation-based decision mak<strong>in</strong>g for state <strong>of</strong> the environment report<strong>in</strong>g that requires consistent<br />

<strong>and</strong> systematic <strong>in</strong>formation from which to compare <strong>and</strong> contrast ecosystem health. In this<br />

chapter, us<strong>in</strong>g examples from around the world, we document <strong>classifications</strong> that have been<br />

developed to support management decision mak<strong>in</strong>g. We def<strong>in</strong>e mar<strong>in</strong>e spatial management<br />

broadly as any management activity that uses spatially explicit data to support decision mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />

from site characterization to select<strong>in</strong>g anchorage zones to monitor<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>and</strong>scape <strong>and</strong> seascape<br />

change, design<strong>in</strong>g networks <strong>of</strong> protected areas <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tegrated mar<strong>in</strong>e spatial plann<strong>in</strong>g. Most<br />

utility has been derived from spatially explicit <strong>classifications</strong> <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> digital geographical<br />

maps, although not all <strong>coastal</strong> <strong>classifications</strong> are maps. Some <strong>classifications</strong> <strong>in</strong>clude features that<br />

are not easily mapped at scales operationally mean<strong>in</strong>gful for management.<br />

The possibilities for class content (or theme) with<strong>in</strong> <strong>coastal</strong> <strong>classifications</strong> are extremely<br />

broad <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>clusive, with limitations usually related to the availability <strong>of</strong> an appropriate sensor or<br />

logistical (i.e., high f<strong>in</strong>ancial cost) constra<strong>in</strong>ts such as data availability. We <strong>in</strong>clude a crosssection<br />

<strong>of</strong> the data types currently be<strong>in</strong>g used to develop <strong>classifications</strong>, but far more examples<br />

exist than can be adequately covered here. In addition to theme, the spatial extent or<br />

geographical coverage <strong>of</strong> <strong>classifications</strong> varies greatly. This is important <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> utility<br />

5

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