Roadmap: Implementing the Framework

The findings from this research combine lessons learned from other MPA processes with input from Oregon stakeholders and agency representatives. The following steps provide a “road map” for how Oregon may substantively address social and economic factors in current and future MPA initiatives.

STEP 1. DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATION
A sustainable foundation depends on smart planning, coordination, funding, and ongoing collaborative learning. Developing these elements in a process framework will help to address social and economic factors as the planning process moves forward.

The following actions could assist Oregon in building a sustainable institutional foundation:
 Determine vision and long-term plan for ocean management of state waters.
 Allocate sufficient financial and staff resources to support an achievable process that earns public buy in, incorporates stakeholder input, and develops the necessary social and economic information;
 Secure support from state & local political leaders and leverage this to promote the process and enhance constructive participation;
 Set a realistic timeline for the process. This will help prevent important steps from being rushed or skipped, and allow greater opportunities for public and stakeholder involvement.
 Develop partnerships to share planning costs and responsibilities. This proved to be an important strategy in California’s MLPA initiative. Partnerships will also communicate to the public that this is not a one-sided initiative.

STEP 2. ASSESS SOCIAL & ECONOMIC ISSUES
In order to effectively address social and economic issues in an MPA planning process, planners must first conduct an issues assessment. Such an assessment to identify the issues will require input from key stakeholders including coastal residents, who are more likely to be impacted by MPA outcomes. The process should be fair and trusted by participants in order to promote ongoing public engagement. To account for the range of social and economic issues, the following actions should be taken:

 Inventory all existing ocean management policies and regulations. Doing so communicates to affected stakeholders that marine authorities are aware of existing burdens on certain user groups. Acknowledgement of such burdens will help gain trust from stakeholders, who may be critical collaborators in mitigation planning.
 Plan for future ocean uses that may not exist at present. This will help identify future impacts on economies and user groups.
 Host a series of public participatory events to scope the potential social and economic issues to be considered in the MPA planning process. Then, report back to participants to make sure the top issues were captured.
 Evaluate the costs and benefits of social and economic impacts for identified candidate MPA sites. Such evaluation may be enhanced through public meetings that provide an opportunity for dialogue between process planners and members of the public. In particular, more specialized input may be needed from stakeholder groups that may be adversely impacted by proposed sites.
 Integrate social and economic information with ecological data to assist in the evaluation and prioritization of candidate sites.

STEP 3. REVITALIZE PROCESS APPROACH & PARTICIPATION
The adopted and executed planning framework is a critical determinant of success for MPA initiatives. The following recommendations focus on how to improve the planning process and enhance the value of public and stakeholder participation.
Pre-planning
 Identify a problem or opportunity statement and then establish a set of corresponding goals and objectives. This will help interested parties understand why the initiative is being proposed and how it may benefit the citizens of Oregon.
 Define “decision space” within the planning process. Doing so clarifies what is (and what is not) on the table for discussion. It will also help improve public input by focusing the public discussion on topics or questions being explored within the planning process.
 Determine how public input may be best integrated into the decision-making process. This may also serve to build trust in the process if participants have a better understanding of how their input will be used.
 Develop informational resources on the web where the public can access background information, meeting details, process updates, and opportunities to participate in planning efforts
 Secure necessary financial and staff resources to support the process.

Process Implementation
 Establish outreach as a major component of the process. Information should be provided on: MPA science; purpose and goals of the MPA initiative; and details of the planning process (e.g. decision space, public meetings, etc.).
 Host public forums throughout the state with process planners to disseminate information, address concerns about the process, and help identify potential collaborative opportunities with communities, stakeholders, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
 Encourage communities to partner in the outreach effort, and to support constructive dialogue around local proposals or nominations for MPAs.
 Develop and implement media strategies to promote public involvement in the process. A campaign such as California’s Ocean Awareness campaign titled “Thank you Ocean” may be a good way to engage the public-at-large.
 Organize public forums to report designation options under consideration and solicit public input on benefits & risks of the various options.
 Target stakeholder groups that may be specifically affected by MPA outcomes to secure their involvement. Some of these groups may not be formally organized, so proactive approaches may be necessary.
 Determine if additional information is needed for decision makers to fairly assess MPA options. In the current process, this would occur prior to OPAC’s recommendation to the Governor so that the request could be included as part of the report.
 Report preliminary decisions to the public & provide dialogue opportunity for participants to preliminary conclusions prior to the State’s final decision on MPA designations.

STEP 4. ADDRESS INFORMATION NEEDS & INTEGRATE DATA
Social and economic information is critical to inform the MPA planning process. The following are recommended steps for addressing information needs and integrating social and economic parameters with ecological criteria.
 Purpose and goals for the MPA effort need to be established before information needs can be determined.
 Compile existing relevant data in a format that can be integrated into the planning process.
 Identify what additional social and economic data is needed and determine feasible strategies for collecting this information.
 Tailor social and economic information to be specific to communities in proximity to proposed sites.
 Assess both the likelihood and magnitude of expected social and economic impacts.
 Use GIS mapping as a tool to identify different spatial protection scenarios and to compare the social and economic tradeoffs associated with various designation options.


Take Home Messages
MPA planning in Oregon is moving quickly. There are steps that can be taken now and planning that can be done over time to maximize the productivity of these processes while minimizing public opposition. Such strategies could help build social and economic thinking into Oregon’s MPA planning process. While this document highlights many important considerations, these are the key take home messages we hope you will consider:
1. Process is everything. Significant progress is ocean planning for MPAs is contingent on a fair process.
2. A fair process should engage the public and give them a voice in the discussion and evaluation of MPA options.
3. Meaningful public engagement will help identify the social and economic issues that need to be addressed. Furthermore, the best practices to minimize and mitigate adverse social and economic impacts should involve collaboration with affected stakeholders.
4. Collaborative efforts could increase our knowledge base and identify information needs. Additionally it may identify reasonable ways to integrate social, economic and ecological information as representatives of these topic areas begin working together.
5. Sufficient time and funding should be devoted to not only the process but also social and economic impact assessments.

In the end, Oregon will achieve success in MPA planning when social and economic factors are integrated into the process and when the process is guided by the necessary information.