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Indicators are Relational: Navigating Knowledge and Power in the Development and Implementation of Coastal-Marine Indicators

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Abstract

In many environment and resource management contexts (e.g., integrated coastal management, ecosystem-based fisheries management), indicator selection and development are perceived as a largely technical, bureaucratic, and scientific challenge. As such, choices about indicators and their application are often treated as external from everyday politics and dynamics of social power. Our aim here is to highlight the value of a relational perspective that weaves power and knowledge together in the context of indicator development and implementation. We highlight four critical dimensions of this relational perspective that may lead to better indicator process outcomes: 1) centering identity and positionality to reflect power differentials; 2) emphasizing the importance of indicator ‘fit’ and the politics of scale; 3) engaging rather than erasing social-ecological complexity; and 4) reflecting on social norms and relationships to foster adaptation and learning. These four dimensions are rarely considered in most indicator initiatives, including those that are more participatory in design and implementation. The dimensions we outline here emerge from the grounded experience of managers and practitioners, including indicator processes in which we are currently engaged, as well as a scoping review of the literature on indicators for coastal and marine governance and conservation specifically. However, the four dimensions and relational focus are relevant to a wide range of resource and environmental management contexts and provide a pathway to catalyze more effective indicator processes for decision-making and governance more generally.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly appreciate the constructive feedback of two anonymous reviewers on an earlier version of this manuscript. We also thank Beth Grant for her initial support in collating materials to support the review process. Funding for this research is provided through the University of Waterloo, the Ontario Graduate Scholars program, and a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    E. K. Muhl, D. Armitage & T. Swerdfager

  2. Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    J. Silver

  3. Parks Canada, Revelstoke, BC, Canada

    H. Thorpe

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  1. E. K. Muhl
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  2. D. Armitage
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  3. J. Silver
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  4. T. Swerdfager
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  5. H. Thorpe
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Correspondence to E. K. Muhl.

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Muhl, E.K., Armitage, D., Silver, J. et al. Indicators are Relational: Navigating Knowledge and Power in the Development and Implementation of Coastal-Marine Indicators. Environmental Management 70, 448–463 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01670-3

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