1. Learning from BC Coastal Environment Part I: Consulting with Audiences and Experts Lynne Bonner Linda Gilkeson

2. Goal: Improve Our Reporting
Province-wide reports to alternate with special reports
With environmental indicators, provide information on solutions
Work toward user needs driving monitoring & indicator development
Involve partnerships to leverage resources, provide consistent information
Meet policy maker’s reporting needs
Provide information to suit different audiences

3. Accordingly…. The BC Coastal Environment project:
Was the first of our special subject reports
Included both federal and university partners
Identified and consulted with audiences at outset
Documented desired indicators before looking for data (knowledge gaps captured in separate report)
Produced a variety of information products with different levels of detail

4. Partners & Contributors
BC Ministry of Environment
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
University of BC Fisheries Centre
University of Victoria, Geography Dept.
Environment Canada
Over 140 people from 30 agencies
& organizations

5. Audiences for SOE Reporting
Established audiences, high priority for consultation and input
Governments (all levels)
Stewardship, environmental groups
Educators
Target audiences, extension required
Tourism, ecotourism operators
Recreational boaters & fishers
Professional associations
‘Green’ industries
First Nations

6. Audience Consultation
Regional meetings: provincial staff, representatives from external organizations
Who are the important audiences?
What issues should be addressed?
survey: regional districts (8); coastal stewardship groups (7)
What are you interested in?
How do you use environmental information?
What report formats are most useful to you?

7. Indicators Workshop ‘Experts’:
What should people know about the condition of the coast and marine environment?”
What are key pressures (impacts) on the coast and marine environment?
‘Audience’:
What do you want to know about the condition of the coast and marine environment?
What do you think are important pressures (impacts)
on the coast and marine environment?

8. Content? General agreement:
Loss and degradation of habitat
Protection of marine areas
Impacts of salmon aquaculture
Status of commercial fisheries
Toxics and pollutants in marine environment
Climate change impacts ecosystems, sea level
What individuals can do
Most issues in 6 themes: Population & Economic Activity; Climate Change; Industrial Contaminants; Ecosystem Protection; Biodiversity; Fisheries

9. More Content Ideas Other areas audiences wanted covered:
In-depth, background information
Socio-economic costs, impacts
Human health risks
First Nations involvement
Community sustainability
Many ideas for ‘stories’ to
supplement indicators
Concerns to address in text

10. Format? Web information essential
Hard copy products still very important
‘Well digested’ information
for general public (brochures)
Access to local data for
communities, regional
districts

11. Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Need time and resources to undertake a meaningful (long-term) involvement
Find the right people or population work with
Establish relationships
Agree on methods, uses of results
May be more meaningful at local scale than on province-wide scale of SOE reporting
community driven processes, relationships
joint problem-solving, monitoring, planning
understanding environmental conditions, long term change

12. What Did We Learn?
There were audiences and end-users interested in every level of information—from original data to high level summaries.
Asking priority audiences what they wanted to know and what they needed enriched the report.
Non-experts and scientists were generally concerned about the same issues, but provided different perspectives.
A variety of reporting formats continues to serve the widest range of people.