Most protected areas (e.g.national parks and nature reserves) have been created to protect wildlife and land- and seascape values. They currently cover over 13% of the world's land surface, around ...12% of marine coastal areas and 4% of the marine shelf. Retaining and expanding these areas in the future will depend on showing their wider benefits for society.
This book provides a concise and persuasive overview of the values of protected areas. Contributing authors from over fifty countries examine a wide range of values that are maintained in protected areas, including food, water and materials; health; tourism; cultural and spiritual values; and buffering capacity against climate change and natural disasters. The book also considers the role of protected areas in poverty reduction strategies, their relationship with traditional and indigenous people and in fostering conflict resolution through peace parks initiatives.
The chapters draw on a series of authoritative reports published by WWF over recent years under the 'Arguments for Protection' banner, in association with various partners, and on additional research carried out especially for the volume. It analyses the opportunities and limitations of protected areas for supplying the various values along with practical advice for planners and managers about maximising benefits. It provides an important contribution to the debate about the role of protected areas in conservation and other aspects of natural resource management and human livelihoods.
Published with WWF
2014–2017 was an unprecedented period of successive record-breaking hot years, which coincided with the most severe, widespread, and longest-lasting global-scale coral bleaching event ever recorded. ...The 2014–2017 global-scale coral bleaching event (GCBE) resulted in very high coral mortality on many reefs, rapid deterioration of reef structures, and far-reaching environmental impacts. Through the papers in this special issue of
Coral Reefs
entitled
The 2014
–
2017 Global Coral Bleaching Event: Drivers, Impacts, and Lessons Learned
, as well as papers published elsewhere, we have a good analysis of the 2014–2017 GCBE and its impacts. These studies have provided key insights into how climate change-driven marine heatwaves are destroying coral reef ecosystems: (a) The 2014–2017 GCBE is unique in the satellite record in its spatial scale, duration, intensity, and repetition of bleaching. (b) The impacts have been the most severe ever seen at many reefs. (c) Timing of observations matters and needs to be considered during the analysis of impacts. (d) On both global and local scales, the intensity of heat stress and impacts varied. (e) We continue to see important differences among and within coral taxa, with key roles played by algal symbionts and the microbiome. (f) Heat stress and bleaching both play a role in subsequent disease, which plays a key role in mortality. (g) Impacts ripple far beyond corals, with significant changes to the fish and invertebrate community that may last decades. (h) The structure of both individual coral’s skeletons and entire reefs has been eroded much more quickly than previously realized. (i) The 2014–2017 GCBE provided little support for the proposed “lifeboat” hypothesis, whereby deep or mesophotic reefs serve as a means of coral reef salvation. (j) While marine protected areas (MPAs) provide protection from local stressors, they not only do not protect reefs from global-scale stressors, but also here is also little evidence they provide significant resilience.
The number of marine protected areas (MPAs) has grown exponentially worldwide over the past decade in order to meet international targets. Most of these protected areas allow extraction of resources ...and are therefore designated as "partially protected areas" (PPAs). However, the effectiveness of PPAs remains unclear due to the high variability of use types permitted. Here, we carried out what we believe to be the first global meta-analysis of PPAs using a regulation-based classification system for MPAs to assess their ecological effectiveness. This novel classification allows for unambiguous differentiation between areas according to allowed use, which is the key feature determining PPA performance. Highly and moderately regulated areas exhibited higher biomass and abundance of commercial fish species, whereas fish abundance and biomass in weakly regulated areas differed little from unprotected areas. Notably, the effectiveness of moderately regulated areas can be enhanced by the presence of an adjacent fully protected area. We concluded that limited and well-regulated uses in PPAs and the presence of an adjacent fully protected area confer ecological benefits, from which socioeconomic advantages are derived.
The cost, complexity and the lack of technical capacity in many countries have made the scientific assessment and sustainable management of data‐poor fisheries a persistent problem. New and ...innovative approaches are needed to stop the ongoing decline of data‐poor fisheries and loss of coastal biodiversity they are driving. In recent decades, marine protected areas have become the most preferred form of management for study and have been widely implemented as broadly applicable powerful management tools for data‐poor fisheries, but although clearly capable of building biomass within sanctuaries, their effectiveness for sustaining fisheries is proving more difficult to substantiate. This study suggests the new approach needed is actually a return to the established basics of managing size selectivity. Previous studies have established the wisdom of managing size selectivity and fishing pressure to catch fish above the size or age of maturity, but their prescriptions are difficult to implement without age studies, or the capacity for controlling catches and fishing pressure. This study develops an easily implementable rule of thumb based simply on multiples of size of maturity and quantifies its benefit where controlling fishing pressure is not yet possible. Our study provides a timely reminder that even if used alone, size selectivity, the oldest form of management, still produces pretty good sustainable yields. We suggest our rule of thumb can be used to prevent data‐poor fisheries declining while capacity for more complex forms of assessment and management are developed.
Human activities and land-use drivers combine in complex ways to affect coral reef health and, in turn, the diversity and abundance of reef fauna. Here we examine the impacts of different marine ...protected area (MPA) types, and various human and habitat drivers, on resource fish functional groups (i.e., total fish, herbivore, grazer, scraper, and browser biomass) along the 180 km west coast of Hawaii Island. Across survey years from 2008 to 2018, we observed an overall decrease in total fish biomass of 45%, with similar decreases in biomass seen across most fish functional groups. MPAs that prohibited a combination of lay nets, aquarium collection, and spear fishing were most effective in maintaining and/or increasing fish biomass across all functional groups. We also found that pollution, fishing, and habitat drivers all contributed to changes in total fish biomass, where the most negative impact was nitrogen input from land-based sewage disposal. Fish biomass relationships with our study drivers depended on fish functional grouping. For surgeonfish (grazers), changes in biomass linked most strongly to changes in reef rugosity. For parrotfish (scrapers), biomass was better explained by changes in commercial catch where current commercial fishing levels are negatively affecting scraper populations. Our observations suggest that regional management of multiple factors, including habitat, pollution, and fisheries, will benefit resource fish biomass off Hawaii Island.
Many drivers of mangrove forest loss operate over large scales and are most effectively addressed by policy interventions. However, conflicting or unclear policy objectives exist at multiple tiers of ...government, resulting in contradictory management decisions. To address this, we considered four approaches that are being used increasingly or could be deployed in Southeast Asia to ensure sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. First, a stronger incorporation of mangroves into marine protected areas (that currently focus largely on reefs and fisheries) could resolve some policy conflicts and ensure that mangroves do not fall through a policy gap. Second, examples of community and government comanagement exist, but achieving comanagement at scale will be important in reconciling stakeholders and addressing conflicting policy objectives. Third, private-sector initiatives could protect mangroves through existing and novel mechanisms in degraded areas and areas under future threat. Finally, payments for ecosystem services (PES) hold great promise for mangrove conservation, with carbon PES schemes (known as blue carbon) attracting attention. Although barriers remain to the implementation of PES, the potential to implement them at multiple scales exists. Closing the gap between mangrove conservation policies and action is crucial to the improved protection and management of this imperiled coastal ecosystem and to the livelihoods that depend on them. Muchos factores causantes de la pérdida de los manglares operan a grandes escalas y son abordados más efectivamente con las intervenciones políticas. Sin embargo, existen objetivos políticos conflictivos o confusos a múltiples niveles del gobierno, lo que resulta en decisiones de manejo contradictorias. Para abordar esto, consideramos 4 estrategias cuyo uso se ha incrementado o que podrían implementarse en el sureste asiático para asegurar medios de vida sustentables y la conservación de la biodiversidad. Primero, una mayor incorporación de los manglares dentro de las áreas marinas protegidas (AMP) (que actualmente se enfocan en su mayoría en los arrecifes y los sectores pesqueros) podría resolver algunos conflictos políticos y asegurar que los manglares no caigan en un vacío de políticas. Segundo, existen ejemplos de co-manejo entre las comunidades y el gobierno, pero lograrlo a escala será importante en la reconciliación de los accionistas y el acercamiento a los objetivos políticos conflictivos. Tercero, las iniciativas del sector privado podrían proteger a los manglares por medio de mecanismos existentes y novedosos en las áreas degradadas y en las áreas bajo amenaza a futuro. Finalmente, los pagos por servicios ambientales (PSA) son muy promisorios para la conservación de los manglares; los esquemas de carbono (conocidos como carbono azul) llaman la atención. Aunque permanecen barreras ante la implementación de los PSA, el potencial de implementarlos a escalas múltiples existe. Cerrar el vacío entre las políticas de conservación de los manglares y la acción es crucial para mejorar la protección y el manejo de estos ecosistemas costeros en riesgo y para los medios de vida que dependen de ellos.
Microplastics have been found in all environmental compartments investigated so far, even reaching remote areas. However, their presence in Antarctic freshwaters has not been yet reported. Here, we ...investigated the occurrence of microplastics in a stream from an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island - ASPA No. 126), which is subject to stringent environmental protection measures as a result of which it is considered a pristine international reference site for inland waters research. Our results showed the presence of three types of microplastics in a freshwater seasonal stream, namely four polyester fibers, one black and three transparent; two acrylic fibers, one transparent and one red; and two transparent polytetrafluoroethylene films. The length and width of these fibers and films were in the 400–3546 μm (average 1118 μm), and 10–1026 μm (average 199 μm) ranges respectively. The concentration of MP was 0.95 items/1000 m3 with estimated variability in the 0.47–1.43 items/1000 m3 range. This is the first report of the presence of microplastics in Antarctic freshwater with the uniqueness that it is an Antarctic Specially Protected Area, meaning that plastic pollution reached even the most remote and pristine environments in the planet.
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•First detection of microplastics in freshwater from Antarctica•Microplastics detected in an Antarctic Specially Protected Area•Polyester and acrylic fibers and polytetrafluoroethylene films
Designated using a Statutory Instrument in 2008, Lyme Bay marine‐protected area (MPA) is the UK's first and largest example of an ambitious, whole‐site approach to management, to recover and protect ...reef biodiversity. The whole‐site approach applies consistent management, in this case excluding bottom towed fishing, across the full 206 km2 extent of the MPA, thus protecting a mosaic of reef‐associated habitats from regular damage, while still allowing less destructive fishing methods, such as static gear, rod and line, and diving.
To assess the effectiveness of this management strategy for mobile taxa and the sustainability for those taxa that continue to be targeted, Exploited and Non‐Exploited species' populations were compared inside the MPA, relative to open control sites spanning 11 of the 12 years of designation. baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) were deployed annually to assess mobile benthic and demersal fauna.
Overall, the number of taxa significantly increased in the MPA relative to the open controls while total abundance increased in both treatments.
Exploited fish showed increases in number of taxa (430%) and total abundance (370%) inside the MPA over 11 years.
Likewise, but to a lesser degree in the open controls, number of taxa of commercially Exploited fish increased over time, potentially showing ‘spillover’ effects from the MPA.
Non‐Exploited fish did not show such changes. Regardless of constituting the majority of the fishery value, highly valuable Exploited invertebrates showed no significant changes over time.
Synthesis and applications. The Lyme Bay marine‐protected area shows importance of protecting a whole site, comprising mosaics of different benthic habitats, through protection of sessile organisms that contribute to essential fish habitats. This Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management can benefit and maintain sustainable fisheries and species of conservation importance.
The Lyme Bay marine‐protected area shows importance of protecting a whole site, comprising mosaics of different benthic habitats, through protection of sessile organisms that contribute to essential fish habitats. This Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management can benefit and maintain sustainable fisheries and species of conservation importance.
Causal inference in coupled human and natural systems Ferraro, Paul J.; Sanchirico, James N.; Smith, Martin D.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
03/2019, Volume:
116, Issue:
12
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) are complex, dynamic, interconnected systems with feedback across social and environmental dimensions. This feedback leads to formidable challenges for ...causal inference. Two significant challenges involve assumptions about excludability and the absence of interference. These two assumptions have been largely unexplored in the CHANS literature, but when either is violated, causal inferences from observable data are difficult to interpret. To explore their plausibility, structural knowledge of the system is requisite, as is an explicit recognition that most causal variables in CHANS affect a coupled pairing of environmental and human elements. In a large CHANS literature that evaluates marine protected areas, nearly 200 studies attempt to make causal claims, but few address the excludability assumption. To examine the relevance of interference in CHANS, we develop a stylized simulation of a marine CHANS with shocks that can represent policy interventions, ecological disturbances, and technological disasters. Human and capital mobility in CHANS is both a cause of interference, which biases inferences about causal effects, and a moderator of the causal effects themselves. No perfect solutions exist for satisfying excludability and interference assumptions in CHANS. To elucidate causal relationships in CHANS, multiple approaches will be needed for a given causal question, with the aim of identifying sources of bias in each approach and then triangulating on credible inferences. Within CHANS research, and sustainability science more generally, the path to accumulating an evidence base on causal relationships requires skills and knowledge from many disciplines and effective academic-practitioner collaborations.
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