Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

The purpose of this tool is to create a method for understanding the community-level impacts of marine spatial planning through the lens of well-being. Well-being consists of three dimensions, material, relational, and subjective. Assigning measurable indicators to each produces a quantitative and holistic measurement of well-being. Here, household well-being is measured through an 11-question, subjective survey, complemented by an additional set of subjective resilience questions. The household well-being and resilience scores generated from the surveys are aggregated to produce community-level well-being and resilience scores. These scores are useful for guiding marine spatial planners, as they identify vulnerable communities, highlight differences in communities, and track changes in community well-being over time. The insights gained from these scores can inform adaptive management measures, help planners select optimal locations for marine spatial plans, and inform planners’ understanding of changes in community well-being associated with marine spatial planning. This tool addresses the need for holistic, practical, and transferrable approaches and promotes mutually beneficial marine spatial plans.