What experience have you of policy or decision makers being able to use these methodologies and analyses? How easy is it for policy makers to access this information and be receptive to it?
One example I could give is not one of my own examples but in New Zealand fishermen and conservation managers have been sitting together around the table using a tool like zonation. They wanted to identify conservation areas but the conflict with the benefits to fisheries was really high. Using this type of tool they were able to meet almost the same conservation values, so protect as many species as they intended, but the cost incurred on the fisherman was almost halved. So these types of tools can make a big difference. The study is available here:
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One example I could give is not one of my own examples but in New Zealand fishermen and conservation managers have been sitting together around the table using a tool like zonation. They wanted to identify conservation areas but the conflict with the benefits to fisheries was really high. Using this type of tool they were able to meet almost the same conservation values, so protect as many species as they intended, but the cost incurred on the fisherman was almost halved. So these types of tools can make a big difference. The study is available here:
Leathwick et al. (2008). Novel methods for the design and evaluation of marine protected areas in offshore waters. Conservation Letters, 1, 91–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00012.x
Other on-the-ground planning examples include: The Finish forest Agency who also uses it in forest planning: http://www.metsa.fi/web/en/zonation
And a comparable tool (Marxan with Zones), applied to ecosystem services in a stakeholder-based planning process: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158350