The participatory engagement of stakeholders is perhaps the most important component of the planning and development of an MPA. Meaningful engagement depends on the ability of practitioners to build a healthy, lasting, and trustful relationship with stakeholders, including local communities. The approaches described in this guidebook are intended to help practitioners navigate this process of stakeholder engagement.

This is the fifth annual West & Rhode Rivers report card. It presents data and information on six different ecological health indicators. It also gives examples of what the public can do to improve health of the rivers.

This report card is an assessment of the aquatic health of the Eastern Bay, Choptank, Miles, and Wye Rivers, and is based on data collected by the Midshore Riverkeeper scientists and Midshore Creekwatchers. It is the third annual report card which discusses the status of river health in the midshore during 2012 based on five different indicators.

Old Woman Creek, on the south-central shore of Lake Erie, is one of Ohio’s few remaining examples of a natural estuary and is designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve and a Ohio State Nature Preserve. It is the only Great Lakes freshwater estuary in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and is managed cooperatively by NOAA and the ODNR.

Pipe Creek is a small tributary to Sandusky Bay on the south-central shore of Lake Erie. The Pipe Creek watershed is largely developed by a combination of urban and agricultural land uses. Pipe Creek is best known for its 97 acre State Wildlife Area located at the mouth of Pipe Creek, which was constructed in the early 1990s as a mitigation site for wetlands destroyed by development elsewhere.

Reduction of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and suspended sediment (SS) load has been a principal focus of Chesapeake Bay Watershed management for decades. To evaluate the progress of management actions in the Bay's largest tributary, the Susquehanna River, we analyzed the long-term seasonal trends of flow-normalized N, P, and SS load over the last two to three decades, both above and below the Lower Susquehanna River Reservoir System.

The narrow coastal area of Lami Town, Fiji, is surrounded by steep hills with three rivers flowing to the ocean, making it highly susceptible to flooding and erosion. This technical report provides greater detail of the cost-benefit assessment of four adaptation scenarios to reduce Lami Town's vulnerability to flooding and erosion, both of which are projected to increase due to climate change.

Native to the Gulf of Mexico, Karenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that blooms almost annually off the west coast of Florida. K. brevis blooms are not a new phenomenon on the west Florida shelf, and ships' logs suggest bloom-related events (fish kills) dating back to the 1500s. Coastal regions of Florida have experienced some of the most rapid population growth and development in the United States.

Native to the Gulf of Mexico, Karenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that blooms almost annually off the west coast of Florida. K. brevis blooms are not a new phenomenon on the west Florida shelf, and ships' logs suggest bloom-related events (fish kills) dating back to the 1500s. Coastal regions of Florida have experienced some of the most rapid population growth and development in the United States.

Climate change is predicted to have a range of impacts on Pacific Island ecosystems and the services they provide for current and future development. There are a number of characteristics that can make adaptation approaches that utilise the benefits of ecosystems a compelling and viable alternative to other adaptation approaches.