Some Belgian initiatives to develop
decision support tools for managers:
BWZee, BALANS and GAUFRE
Sofie Derous, Marijn Rabaut & Steven Degraer
University of Gent
Marine Biology Section
MARBEF Theme 3 Workshop on Information
Crete, 14-15 December 2004
Distributions of species
Species densities
Biomass
Marine scientists
Information available
Decision
Support
Tools /
Translating
tools
Scientific
data
?
Sustainable
management
of the sea
Managers
?
Information required
e.g.
Sustainable fish quota
Valuable biological areas
Scientific Data
?
Decision Support Tools
Translating tools
Sustainable
Management
BALANS
GAUFRE
?
Scientific Data
Sustainable
Management
BALANS
GAUFRE
BWZee
Biological Valuation Criteria
Scientific Data
Biological Valuation Map
(BVM)
Warning System
Sustainable
Management
MARINE BIOLOGICAL VALUATION MAP
OBJECTIVE: TO CREATE A BASELINE MAP WITHIN A
NATURE CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE FOR SPATIAL PLANNING
SANDBANK AREA
-10
-10
-5
-5
-10
-5
-5
-10
Low biological value
Moderate biological value
High biological value
BWZee – A Biological valuation map for the Belgian Continental Shelf
WP2
Data collection
and management
DATABASES
WP1
Valuation criteria
WP3
Spatial
extrapolation
WP4
Filling the gaps
DISTRIBUTION MAPS
WP5
Biological valueing
BIOLOGICAL VALUATION MAP(S)
 Biological Valuation Criteria for the Marine Environment
What is a marine Biological Valuation Map?
What is a marine Biological Valuation Map?
BWZee – INTERNATIONAL EXPERT WORKSHOP
Towards a scientifically accepted and widely applicable
marine, biological valuation strategy
Goals
(1) To learn from international expertise on marine biological valuation
(2) To contribute to the international expertise on marine biological valuation
Participants
Selected group of experts in marine (and terrestrial) biological valuation
About 10 experts
(Belgium, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, U.K.
& USA)
What is a marine Biological Valuation Map?
 Definition by Experts
BVM
A marine Biological Valuation Map is a national marine biological map
showing relative ecological significance value
Value
Value is assigned in terms of preservation of biodiversity, both actual
and potential
Selected Valuation Criteria
First-order criteria
Rarity (including uniqueness)
Aggregation
Fitness Consequences
Biological Diversity
Second-order criteria (Modifiers)
Naturalness
Proportional Importance
(Resilience)
The components of marine biodiversity:
GENETIC
Structure Process
SPECIES/ POPULATION
COMMUNITY
Structure
Process
Structure Process
ECOSYSTEM
Structure Process
Structure
Mutation
Structure
Migration
Structure
Succession
Watermass
Currents
Genotypes
Differentiat.
Abundance
Dispersion
S.Diversity
Predation
Temp
Tides
Fitness
Drift
Distribut
Retention
S. Richness
Competit.
Salinity
Disturban.
Haplotype D
Flow
Focal Spp
Mig/ Drift
S. Evenness
Parasitism
Properties
Gyres
Stocks
Nat. Select
Keystone
Growth
Abundance
Mutualism
Boundaries
Retention
Inbreeding
Ind. Cond.
Reprod.
Represent.
Disease
Depth/Pres
P-B couple
Mating
Ind. Comp.
Recruit
Distinctive
Production
Light
Entrain.
Dir. Select
Umbrella
Biomes
Decomp.
Stratificat.
B-G cycles
Stab. select
Phenotypes
Biocoenos.
Topograph
Seasonal.
Dis. select
Fragments
S-A relns.
Substrate
Product.
Micro. Evol.
Meta-pops
Transitions
Represent.
H-A equil.
Erosion
Fun.groups
Distinctive
H-L equil.
Speciation
Heterog.
Anomalies
Turbulence
Macro. Evol
Endemism
Exposure
Mixing
Alt. S.Stats
Patchiness
Upwelling
Symbioses
Nutrients
Divergence
Biomass
Dis. Gases
Ecol.Integ.
Anoxia
Erosion
Adapted from Zacharias and Roff 2000
Desiccation
Guideline for future Biological Valuation
General Valuation Criteria
Specific Questions within General Valuation Criteria
f.i.
Biological diversity: what is the species richness/habitat diversity/
genetic diversity in an area?
Aggregation: are there spawning areas situated in the area?
Scoring of criteria
Multi-criteria analysis: combining scores for
different criteria for each region
Biological Valuation Map
MARBEF Theme 3 Responsive Mode Action
Work Package 2: Ecological data and biological valuation
Marine biological valuation strategy tested
 selected case studies with different levels
of data availability
Input of biological
data from MARBEF
theme 1 and 2 !!
Applicability in European marine waters ?
Biological Valuation
Integrated view on VALUE of marine
biodiversity
Goods & Services valuation
SPATIAL STRUCTURE PLAN
BWZee
Biological Valuation Criteria
Scientific Data
Biological Valuation Map
= Baseline
(BVM) layer
to be used as a Warning System
GAUFRE
Sustainable
Management
MARINE BIOLOGICAL VALUATION MAP
OBJECTIVE: TO CREATE A BASELINE MAP WITHIN A
NATURE CONSERVATION PERSPECTIVE FOR SPATIAL PLANNING
SANDBANK AREA
-10
-10
-5
-5
B
C
-10
-5
A
-5
-10
Low biological value
Moderate biological value
Example: planned windmill farm
High biological value
BALANS
BWZee
Biological Valuation Criteria
Scientific Data
Biological Valuation Map
(BVM)
Warning System
Sustainable
Management:
Spatial planning
Adaptive management
BALANS
Fisheries
IMPACT
ASSESSMENTS
Aggregate extraction
Shipping
What is the influence of certain
management decisions?
What are the most sustainable
management decisions?
e.g.
Change of amount of fish
species to be catched
Adaptive
management
Change of location for
extraction
Spatial planning
Assess biological/ecological impacts

Model: balancing impacts
Assess socio-economic impacts
Assess biological/ecological impacts
Location-specific data needed
BALANS
unavailable
Scientific Data
Biological Valuation Map
(BVM)
= Full-coverage map of area
Sustainable
Management:
Spatial planning
Adaptive management