Abstract
The OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World builds on and serves as an update and a complement to the 2013 Final Report for Phase 1 of OES-Environmental and the 2016 State of the Science Report. Its content reflects the most current and pertinent published information about interactions of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices and associated infrastructure with the animals and habitats that make up the marine environment. It has been developed and reviewed by over 60 international experts and scientists from around the world as part of an ongoing effort supported by the OES collaboration that operates within the International Technology Cooperation Framework of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The 2020 State of the Science Report consists of 14 chapters which can be downloaded as a whole or individually. Download Chapter 9: Social and Economic Data Collection for Marine Renewable Energy here. Download the Chapter 9 Supplementary Material here.
The potential social and economic impacts of MRE development (including impacts on communities, employment, infrastructure and services, and regional commerce) must be considered during consenting processes and for strategic planning purposes. Social and economic information that is collected consistently and comparably over time is needed to understand baseline and long-term assessments, social changes (such as social structures, schools, housing, services, etc.), and economic changes (such as employment, wages, local supply chain, etc.).
There is a lack of certainty about the social and economic benefits and adverse effects of MRE development that would profit from the development of standardized processes for data collection. While there will be variability in the requirements among nations, some standardization and best practices are needed. Two levels of assessment and data collection for social and economic data are needed: (1) strategic-level activities and measures that meet objectives of local, national, and regional policy, which generally fall to governments; and (2) project-level activities and measures that meet objectives on a local scale, such as within a municipality or community, that should be carried out by MRE project developers.
The Short Science Summary for the chapter is available here.