opportunities to several hundred thousand people, supplies seafood products for
human consumption to local and regional markets, and creates many other indirect
benefits, maintaining the social foundation of coastal communities. In addition,
fisheries are also an intrinsic part of the cultural landscape, as highlighted by old
Roman mosaics and paintings, and the livelihoods of the Mediterranean and Black
Sea countries (FAO 2018).
In this framework, the Alboran Sea is a peculiar region connecting the Atlantic
Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and it represents a natural boundary between
Europe and Africa. The Alboran Sea shelters a great variety of natural and human
resources and activities including fishing, wildlife, research, transport, and tourism
that historically have been exploited by different countries, mainly Spain (from
North) and Morocco and Algeria (from South). The Alboran Sea represents a
regional Mediterranean space where North and South worlds merge, creating a
geopolitical region where marine resources and maritime activities should be managed from both national and international perspectives and also offering and creating
opportunities for scientific cooperation.
This chapter presents a step-by-step discussion on the scientific and political
changes experienced in the paradigm of the marine ecosystem management in the
Alboran Sea (but also valid for other regions). The chapter starts with an analysis of
the scientific logic explaining the evolution from a single-species management to an
ecosystem-based management. It follows with a discussion on the need of a new
socioecological narrative, which have ultimately crystallized in a series of regional
policies (leaded by both the United Nations and the European Union) aimed to
consolidate the sustainable and responsible use of our resources and ecosystems as
an international and common obligation with ourselves and with the future generations. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations and leverage points
aimed to strengthen the scientific cooperation, to enable an equitable management,
and to promote fair and effective governance for good environmental stewardship of
the Alboran Sea.
24.1.1 Parts and Wholes: The Evolution of Ecosystem
Management Paradigm
Within the ecological systems theory, one of the most challenging problems is the
management of natural resources. The thinking evolution from a management
approach based on single species to an ecosystem-based management (EBM)
approach denoted a big theoretical improvement. Even with all the practical difficulties of operationalizing and implementing it, the EBM is nowadays the dominant
model in the management of natural resources and marine ecosystems worldwide.
And so it is in the Alboran Sea.
The EBM was framed by Christensen et al. (1996), but even earlier, Lubchenco
(1994) defined some of the context, language, and goals of EBM, and in 1994, she
wrote the following: “In fact, this approach represents a paradigm shift from the
798
L. Valdés et al.
human consumption to local and regional markets, and creates many other indirect
benefits, maintaining the social foundation of coastal communities. In addition,
fisheries are also an intrinsic part of the cultural landscape, as highlighted by old
Roman mosaics and paintings, and the livelihoods of the Mediterranean and Black
Sea countries (FAO 2018).
In this framework, the Alboran Sea is a peculiar region connecting the Atlantic
Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and it represents a natural boundary between
Europe and Africa. The Alboran Sea shelters a great variety of natural and human
resources and activities including fishing, wildlife, research, transport, and tourism
that historically have been exploited by different countries, mainly Spain (from
North) and Morocco and Algeria (from South). The Alboran Sea represents a
regional Mediterranean space where North and South worlds merge, creating a
geopolitical region where marine resources and maritime activities should be managed from both national and international perspectives and also offering and creating
opportunities for scientific cooperation.
This chapter presents a step-by-step discussion on the scientific and political
changes experienced in the paradigm of the marine ecosystem management in the
Alboran Sea (but also valid for other regions). The chapter starts with an analysis of
the scientific logic explaining the evolution from a single-species management to an
ecosystem-based management. It follows with a discussion on the need of a new
socioecological narrative, which have ultimately crystallized in a series of regional
policies (leaded by both the United Nations and the European Union) aimed to
consolidate the sustainable and responsible use of our resources and ecosystems as
an international and common obligation with ourselves and with the future generations. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations and leverage points
aimed to strengthen the scientific cooperation, to enable an equitable management,
and to promote fair and effective governance for good environmental stewardship of
the Alboran Sea.
24.1.1 Parts and Wholes: The Evolution of Ecosystem
Management Paradigm
Within the ecological systems theory, one of the most challenging problems is the
management of natural resources. The thinking evolution from a management
approach based on single species to an ecosystem-based management (EBM)
approach denoted a big theoretical improvement. Even with all the practical difficulties of operationalizing and implementing it, the EBM is nowadays the dominant
model in the management of natural resources and marine ecosystems worldwide.
And so it is in the Alboran Sea.
The EBM was framed by Christensen et al. (1996), but even earlier, Lubchenco
(1994) defined some of the context, language, and goals of EBM, and in 1994, she
wrote the following: “In fact, this approach represents a paradigm shift from the
798
L. Valdés et al.