Achieving the triple bottom line in the face of inherent trade-offs among social equity, economic return, and conservation

Abstract

Triple-bottom-line outcomes from resource management and conservation, where conservation goals and equity in social outcomes are maximized while overall costs are minimized, remain a highly sought-after ideal. However, despite widespread recognition of the importance that equitable distribution of benefits or costs across society can play in conservation success, little formal theory exists for how to explicitly incorporate equity into conservation planning and prioritization. Here, we develop that theory and implement it for three very different case studies in California (United States), Raja Ampat (Indonesia), and the wider Coral Triangle region (Southeast Asia). We show that equity tends to trade off nonlinearly with the potential to achieve conservation objectives, such that similar conservation outcomes can be possible with greater equity, to a point. However, these case studies also produce a range of trade-off typologies between equity and conservation, depending on how one defines and measures social equity, including direct (linear) and no trade-off. Important gaps remain in our understanding, most notably how equity influences probability of conservation success, in turn affecting the actual ability to achieve conservation objectives. Results here provide an important foundation for moving the science and practice of conservation planning-and broader spatial planning in general-toward more consistently achieving efficient, equitable, and effective outcomes. marine protected areas | environmental justice | marine spatial planning | ecosystem-based management | social-ecological systems

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

“…Thus, a purely local-scale model of planning, in which each spatial unit receives an equitable share of funding, can inadvertently force funds to be spent on inefficient projects. Similar trade-offs between equity and conservation outcomes exist for marine protected areas (23). Second, when the budget is finely divided in space and time, only a subset of possible projects are affordable, which sharply constrains aggregate efficiency.…”

An analysis of spatio-temporal landscape patterns for protected areas in northern New England: 1900–2010

“…Multiple and coordinated strategies for both biodiversity and ecosystem services are required and a diverse portfolio of PAs based on reserve design principles may offer the best hedge for protecting the broadest suite of conservation objectives (Margules and Pressey 2000;Foster et al 2010;Halpern et al 2013). Yet, there remains a lack of information about how the spatial pattern of independent conservation actions result in a meaningful network of PAs (Merenlender et al 2004).…”

Social equity and the probability of success of biodiversity conservation

“…Yours sincerely, on behalf of all co-authors, return, the three components to triple bottom line conservation outcomes (Halpern et al 2013).…”

“…In conservation planning, expected conservation benefit is typically calculated as the 274 product of probability of success and conservation benefit. In general, conservation benefit 275 reflects both biodiversity conservation and economic efficiency objectives, addressing two 276 pillars of the triple bottom line (Halpern et al 2013). Here we demonstrate, in theory, how a 277 third pillar, equity, potentially affects probability of conservation success (shown in Figure 3), 278 and how this in turn interacts with the way equity can limit potential conservation benefits 279 (Figure 4).…”