INSITE Synthesis Project

The INSITE Synthesis Project aims to, using standard stakeholder engagement practice, develop a scientific consensus and 'community' position on what they consider to be the critical issues relating to the ecological costs, benefits and impacts of installing, operating and removing (decommissioning) man-made structures (MMS) in the marine environment.

The community will be assembled largely by invitation, co-ordinated by the core group, and will include experts from INSITE projects and national and international partners. Because the aim is to understand and disseminate a view of the scientific consensus we will focus on scientists with demonstrated and relevant expertise, such as those who have published relevant papers or are leading relevant projects.

The project will start with a conceptual framework and a 'bottom-up approach', asking scientists to contribute what they consider to be the most relevant evidence with respect to MMS decommissioning. This evidence-base would then be used to create a conceptual network describing the links between cause (drivers), consequence (impact) and responses (management options).

This evidence base will be used to identify knowledge gaps, future research priorities reflected in creation of (1) a 'Summary for Policymakers' policy briefing synthesising the scientific evidence for policymakers (i.e. UK government, national and international managers), and (2) a high-impact journal article outlining the scientific consensus.