School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 William T. Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA, 02125-3393, USA.
Ambio. 2023 Sep;52(9):1488-1504. doi: 10.1007/s13280-023-01870-z. Epub 2023 Jun 13.
Oysters have socioeconomic and environmental importance globally and are currently threatened by microplastic pollution. Whether solutions (e.g., laws, policies, or best management practices) are needed to protect oysters from microplastic pollution is still in question given the complexity of the issue and the multitude of stakeholders involved. Minimal research has been done to examine the public's view of the microplastic problem and, separately, few economic studies have examined non-monetary values for oysters. Here, we employed a discourse-based method (deliberative multicriteria evaluation methodology) to engage with oyster-relevant stakeholders in Massachusetts, USA, to evaluate how the stakeholders discussed and interacted with each other on the topic of 'microplastics polluting oyster habitats' using hypothetical scenarios. Our qualitative analysis indicated that participants discussed human welfare and non-human welfare aspects of oysters when considering what is threatened by microplastic pollution in oyster habitats. In all the workshops, an important theme emerged which is the role of oysters in supporting services (e.g., the concept that microplastic filtration or ingestion by oysters might impact the oysters' role as eco-engineers). Decision-making is not a linear process, especially when complex pollutants (e.g., microplastics) are involved. Here, we learned that both environmental and social data are needed for the oyster stakeholders to make decisions, and discussion among stakeholders can highlight gaps in scientific knowledge. The results were then used to inform the development of a decision-making process for evaluating complex environmental issues, like microplastic pollution.
牡蛎在全球范围内具有社会经济和环境重要性，目前正受到微塑料污染的威胁。鉴于问题的复杂性和涉及的众多利益相关者，是否需要采取解决方案（例如法律、政策或最佳管理实践）来保护牡蛎免受微塑料污染仍存在疑问。关于公众对微塑料问题的看法，以及对牡蛎的非货币价值进行的经济研究很少。在这里，我们使用基于话语的方法（审议性多准则评价方法）与美国马萨诸塞州的牡蛎相关利益相关者进行了接触，以评估利益相关者如何在“微塑料污染牡蛎栖息地”的主题上进行讨论和相互作用使用假设情景。我们的定性分析表明，参与者在考虑牡蛎栖息地中的微塑料污染威胁时，讨论了牡蛎的人类福利和非人类福利方面。在所有的研讨会上，都出现了一个重要的主题，即牡蛎在支持服务中的作用（例如，微塑料过滤或牡蛎摄入可能会影响牡蛎作为生态工程师的角色的概念）。决策不是一个线性过程，尤其是当涉及到复杂污染物（例如微塑料）时。在这里，我们了解到牡蛎利益相关者需要环境和社会数据来做出决策，并且利益相关者之间的讨论可以突出科学知识的差距。然后，将结果用于为评估微塑料污染等复杂环境问题的决策过程提供信息。
