A global network of marine protected areas for food Cabral, Reniel B.; Bradley, Darcy; Mayorga, Juan ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
11/2020, Volume:
117, Issue:
45
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are conservation tools that are increasingly implemented, with growing national commitments for MPA expansion. Perhaps the greatest challenge to expanded use of MPAs is ...the perceived trade-off between protection and food production. Since MPAs can benefit both conservation and fisheries in areas experiencing overfishing and since overfishing is common in many coastal nations, we ask how MPAs can be designed specifically to improve fisheries yields. We assembled distribution, life history, and fisheries exploitation data for 1,338 commercially important stocks to derive an optimized network of MPAs globally. We show that strategically expanding the existing global MPA network to protect an additional 5% of the ocean could increase future catch by at least 20% via spillover, generating 9 to 12 million metric tons more food annually than in a business-as-usual world with no additional protection. Our results demonstrate how food provisioning can be a central driver of MPA design, offering a pathway to strategically conserve ocean areas while securing seafood for the future.
Government administered protected areas (PAs) have dominated conservation strategies, discourse, and research, yet private actors are increasingly managing land for conservation. Little is known ...about the social and environmental outcomes of these privately protected areas (PPAs). We searched the global literature in English on PPAs and their environmental and social outcomes and identified 412 articles suitable for inclusion. Research on PPAs was geographically skewed; more studies occurred in the United States. Environmental outcomes of PPAs were mostly positive (89%), but social outcomes of PPAs were reported less (12% of all studies), and these outcomes were more mixed (65% positive). Private protected areas increased the number or extent of ecosystems, ecoregions, or species covered by PAs (representativeness) and PA network connectivity and effectively reduced deforestation and restored degraded lands. Few PPA owners reported negative social outcomes, experienced improved social capital, increased property value, or a reduction in taxes. Local communities benefited from increased employment, training, and community‐wide development (e.g., building of schools), but they reported reduced social capital and no significant difference to household income. The causal mechanisms through which PPAs influence social and environmental outcomes remain unclear, as does how political, economic, and social contexts shape these mechanisms. Future research should widen the geographical scope and diversify the types of PPAs studied and focus on determining the casual mechanisms through which PPA outcomes occur in different contexts. We propose an assessment framework that could be adopted to facilitate this process.
Conservación y Consecuencias Sociales de las Áreas Protegidas Privadas
Resumen
Las áreas protegidas administradas por el gobierno (APs) han dominado las estrategias, el discurso y las investigaciones de la conservación a pesar de que los actores privados cada vez están administrando más tierras para la conservación. Se conoce muy poco sobre las consecuencias ambientales y sociales de estas áreas protegidas privadamente (APPs). Realizamos una búsqueda en la literatura en inglés sobre las APPs y sus consecuencias ambientales y sociales e identificamos 412 artículos apropiados para la inclusión. La investigación sobre las APPs presentó un sesgo geográfico pues la mayoría de los estudios se realizaron dentro de los Estados Unidos. Las consecuencias ambientales de las APPs fueron principalmente positivas (89%); mientras que las consecuencias sociales estuvieron menos reportadas (12% de todos los estudios) y estas resultaron generalmente mixtas (65% positivas). Las áreas protegidas privadas incrementaron el número o la extensión de los ecosistemas, las ecoregiones o las especies cubiertas por las APs (representatividad) así como la conectividad entre redes de AP y redujeron efectivamente la deforestación y restauraron los suelos degradados. Fueron pocos los dueños de una APP que reportaron consecuencias sociales negativas, experimentaron un incremento en el capital social, aumentaron el valor de su propiedad o redujeron sus impuestos. Las comunidades locales se beneficiaron con el incremento en los empleos, el entrenamiento y el desarrollo a nivel comunitario (p. ej.: la construcción de escuelas), aunque también reportaron una reducción en el capital social y ninguna diferencia importante en el ingreso doméstico. Los mecanismos causales mediante los cuales las APPs influyen sobre las consecuencias sociales y ambientales todavía no están claros, así como la manera en la que el contexto político, económico o social moldea estos mecanismos. Las siguientes investigaciones deberían ampliar el enfoque geográfico y diversificar los tipos de APPs estudiados, así como enfocarse en determinar los mecanismos causales mediante los cuales las consecuencias de las APPs ocurren en diferentes contextos. Proponemos un marco de trabajo de análisis que podría adoptarse para facilitar este proceso.
摘要
政府管理的保护区已主导保护的策略、讨论和研究, 而个人也越来越多地以保护为目的来管理土地。目前人们对这些私人保护区的社会和环境效果仍知之甚少。我们检索了全球关于私人保护区及其环境和社会影响的英文文献, 并确定了412篇文章以纳入分析。私人保护区的研究在地理上有所倾斜, 大多数研究发生在美国。私人保护区的环境效果大多是积极的 (89%) , 但对其社会影响的报道较少 (所有研究的 12%) , 且这些结果更加混杂 (65%为积极影响) 。私人保护区增加了保护区覆盖生态系统、生态区及物种的数量或范围 (保护区代表性) 及保护区网络连接度, 并有效减少了森林砍伐、促进了退化土地的恢复。只有少数私人保护区所有者报告了负面的社会效果, 更多的是提高了社会资本, 增加了财产价值, 及减少了税收。当地社区也受益于就业、培训和社区发展 (如建设学校) 机会的增加, 但他们认为社会资本减少了, 而家庭收入没有显著差异。私人保护区影响社会和环境结果的因果机制尚不清楚, 正如政治、经济和社会背景如何塑造这些机制也不清楚。未来应扩宽研究的地理范围和私人保护区类型, 并聚焦于确定不同背景下的私人保护区保护效果产生的机制。我们这里提出一个可促进这一过程的评估框架。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】
Article Impact statement: Private protected areas appear to have positive environmental impacts, but their social outcomes are less clear.
Designated large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs, 100,000 or more square kilometers) constitute over two-thirds of the approximately 6.6% of the ocean and approximately 14.5% of the exclusive ...economic zones within marine protected areas. Although LSMPAs have received support among scientists and conservation bodies for wilderness protection, regional ecological connectivity, and improving resilience to climate change, there are also concerns. We identified 10 common criticisms of LSMPAs along three themes: (1) placement, governance, and management; (2) political expediency; and (3) social–ecological value and cost. Through critical evaluation of scientific evidence, we discuss the value, achievements, challenges, and potential of LSMPAs in these arenas. We conclude that although some criticisms are valid and need addressing, none pertain exclusively to LSMPAs, and many involve challenges ubiquitous in management. We argue that LSMPAs are an important component of a diversified management portfolio that tempers potential losses, hedges against uncertainty, and enhances the probability of achieving sustainably managed oceans.
Protecting important sites is a key strategy for halting the loss of biodiversity. However, our understanding of the relationship between management inputs and biodiversity outcomes in protected ...areas (PAs) remains weak. Here, we examine biodiversity outcomes using species population trends in PAs derived from the Living Planet Database in relation to management data derived from the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) database for 217 population time‐series from 73 PAs. We found a positive relationship between our METT‐based scores for Capacity and Resources and changes in vertebrate abundance, consistent with the hypothesis that PAs require adequate resourcing to halt biodiversity loss. Additionally, PA age was negatively correlated with trends for the mammal subsets and PA size negatively correlated with population trends in the global subset. Our study highlights the paucity of appropriate data for rigorous testing of the role of management in maintaining species populations across multiple sites, and describes ways to improve our understanding of PA performance.
Policy interactions in large‐scale marine protected areas Gruby, Rebecca L.; Gray, Noella J.; Fairbanks, Luke ...
Conservation letters,
January/February 2021, 2021-01-00, 20210101, 2021-01-01, Volume:
14, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Large‐scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) have proliferated in recent years, now accounting for most of the world's MPA coverage. However, little is known about LSMPA outcomes and the factors that ...affect them. Here we argue that policy interactions—the cumulative effect of co‐existing policies for an issue and/or geographical area—can play a critical, but under‐recognized, role in influencing LSMPA design and outcomes. We analyze interactions between national LSMPAs within Palau and Kiribati, and regional fisheries management established by the Nauru Agreement to show how policy actors can account for policy interactions in LSMPA design, and to demonstrate the profound influence that policy interactions can have on the economic and conservation outcomes of LSMPAS. We draw on our analysis to distill lessons for our case studies and LSMPAs globally. We emphasize that policy interactions are dynamic and malleable: they should be proactively managed to stimulate synergy and address conflict. Understanding and managing policy interactions is complex and context‐specific, requiring dedicated resources, cross‐sectoral coordination, and sophisticated scientific and practical policy expertise. To avoid undesirable consequences and capitalize on opportunities to secure multiple benefits, we recommend that policy actors systematically evaluate, monitor, and adapt to policy interactions throughout LSMPA design and implementation.
•The social and ecological effectiveness of LMPAs >10,000km2 are evaluated.•We conducted a meta-analysis of social and ecological characteristics.•Improved fisheries were associated with older areas ...and high enforcement.•Declining fisheries had low productivity, high mobility, and high market value.•High participation linked with improved wellbeing and ecosystem health trends.
Large marine protected areas are increasingly being established to meet global conservation targets and promote sustainable use of resources. Although the factors affecting the performance of small-scale marine protected areas are relatively well studied, there is no such body of knowledge for large marine protected areas. We conducted a global meta-analysis to systematically investigate social, ecological, and governance characteristics of successful large marine protected areas with respect to several social and ecological outcomes. We included all large (>10,000km2), implemented (>5years of active management) marine protected areas that had sufficient data for analysis, for a total of twelve cases. We used the Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database, and a consistent protocol for using secondary data and key informant interviews, to code proxies for fisheries, ecosystem health, and the wellbeing of user groups (mainly fishers). We tested four sets of hypotheses derived from the literature on small-scale marine protected areas and common-pool resources: (i) the attributes of species and ecosystems to be managed in the marine protected area, (ii) adherence to principles for designing small-scale marine protected areas, (iii) adherence to the design principles for common-pool resource management, and (iv) stakeholder participation. We found varying levels of support for these hypotheses. Improved fisheries were associated with older marine protected areas, and higher levels of enforcement. Declining fisheries were associated with several ecological and economic factors, including low productivity, high mobility, and high market value. High levels of participation were correlated with improvements in wellbeing and ecosystem health trends. Overall, this study constitutes an important first step in identifying factors affecting social wellbeing and ecological performance of large marine protected areas.
In this paper a novel methodology to assess the risk of marine litter (ML) pollution in the Mediterranean Sea is implemented. In this approach, the hazard component is estimated using a ...state-of-the-art 3D modeling system, which allows the simulation of floating and sinking ML particles; the exposure component is defined from biodiversity estimates; and the vulnerability is related to ML ingestion rates of each species. The results show that the hot-spots for the ML risk concentrate in the coastal regions, and are mainly conditioned by the biodiversity in the region. A dedicated analysis on the marine protected areas shows that the risk therein is controlled by the proximity to ML sources and that their present-day protection levels are not effective in the case of ML pollution. Only a reduction of ML at the sources could reduce the impact of ML pollution in protected areas.
•A novel methodology for risk assessment of marine litter pollution is developed.•The risk for neutral and positive buoyancy particles is estimated.•Methodology based on the impact on a large number of species.•Hotspots and conditioning factors are identified.•Focus on the impact on MPAs and effectiveness of their protection.
Oceanic dispersal and connectivity have been identified as crucial factors for structuring marine populations and designing marine protected areas (MPAs). Focusing on larval dispersal by ocean ...currents, we propose an approach coupling Lagrangian transport and new tools from Network Theory to characterize marine connectivity in the Mediterranean basin. Larvae of different pelagic durations and seasons are modeled as passive tracers advected in a simulated oceanic surface flow from which a network of connected areas is constructed. Hydrodynamical provinces extracted from this network are delimited by frontiers which match multiscale oceanographic features. By examining the repeated occurrence of such boundaries, we identify the spatial scales and geographic structures that would control larval dispersal across the entire seascape. Based on these hydrodynamical units, we study novel connectivity metrics for existing reserves. Our results are discussed in the context of ocean biogeography and MPAs design, having ecological and managerial implications.
Key PointsMethod coupling Lagrangian transport and network theory to study connectivityProvinces delimited by oceanic features organize basin‐scale larval dispersalNew connectivity metrics to assess existing MPAs and design future ones
A leading strategy in international efforts to reverse ongoing losses in biodiversity is the use of protected areas. We use a broad range of data and a review of the literature to show that the ...effectiveness of existing, and the current pace of the establishment of new, protected areas will not be able to overcome current trends of loss of marine and terrestrial biodiversity. Despite local successes of well-designed and well-managed protected areas proving effective in stemming biodiversity loss, there are significant shortcomings in the usual process of implementation of protected areas that preclude relying on them as a global solution to this problem. The shortcomings include technical problems associated with large gaps in the coverage of critical ecological processes related to individual home ranges and propagule dispersal, and the overall failure of such areas to protect against the broad range of threats affecting ecosystems. Practical issues include budget constraints, conflicts with human development, and a growing human population that will increase not only the extent of anthropogenic stressors but the difficulty in successfully enforcing protected areas. While efforts towards improving and increasing the number and/or size of protected areas must continue, there is a clear and urgent need for the development of additional solutions for biodiversity loss, particularly ones that stabilize the size of the world’s human population and our ecological demands on biodiversity.
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