Engaging stakeholders through listening sessions
To achieve a sustainable and equitable Chesapeake Bay watershed, diverse stakeholders must be engaged in the decision-making process. By doing so, it ensures that the needs and concerns of everyone involved are considered and addressed. Stakeholder listening sessions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed serve to accomplish this. Last year’s events were in the Middle Potomac, Patuxent, Choptank, and Patapsco regions. The goal for the coming years is to continuously engage different communities, particularly those who have traditionally been excluded from the environmental decision-making process. Only by working together can an inclusive and collaborative environment be developed to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed for future generations.
Chesapeake Bay report card serves as a model
The 2021 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card has also been setting the standard for guidance globally on collecting and assessing watershed indicators. UMCES plays a key role in regional, national and international efforts to advance our understanding of how economic, ecological, and societal health impact our environment.
COAST Card
The Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation is a Belmont Forum-funded international and transdisciplinary program that aims to foster solutions to global sustainability challenges by merging socio-environmental report cards, social network analyses, and system dynamics models. It builds on the framework that we are using and developing for the Chesapeake Bay and is emulated in Manila Bay, Tokyo Bay, Ishigaki Island, and the Goa Coast of India."
COAST Card builds on the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and is being introduced in the Potomac watershed, covering the Lower Potomac, Middle Potomac, Upper Potomac, and Shenandoah regions. This framework can bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative information, allowing stakeholders to make informed management or policy decisions.
The 2022 Potomac River and Watershed Report Card is one of the foundations of the Potomac COAST Card that will be further developed in the coming years.