Conservation management and restoration options were developed to meet the following two outcomes for Noosa Estuary, Australia. (This example was conducted before the minimum goal approach was introduced, so these target outcomes are more vague than those we would elevate through the CbD 2.0 process):
- Increase fish abundance
- Increase diversity of aquatic species
A group of experts (deliberately drawn from diverse professional background and current roles) were asked to think broadly and freely about restoration and management options, initially as individuals then as a group during a workshop. To limit the risk that experts would prematurely discard potential options because of perceived socio-political feasibility issues, the experts were explicitly instructed not to consider the socio-political feasibility or desirability of potential options. Instead, experts were asked only to consider technical feasibility when proposing options. A total of 14 options were developed (Table 3), and in some cases were accompanied by maps that illustrated the location of the proposed actions. These options span a diverse, and sometimes unorthodox, set of actions. Identification of the most promising options was accomplished through a formal assessment of the predicted consequence of each option for the two fundamental outcomes.