Could European marine conservation policy benefit from systematic conservation planning?

Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Vassilopoulou, Vassiliki; Panayotidis, P.; Kavadas, Stefanos; Issaris, Yiannis; Kokkali, Athina; Frantzis, Alexandros; Panou, Aliki; Mavrommati, Georgia

doi:10.1002/aqc.2273

Cited by 41 publications

(42 citation statements)

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“…The role of international conventions and agreements along with joint research initiatives and scientific networks can be pivotal to this end (Giakoumi et al, 2012a;Levin et al, 2014). The expansion of EU policies and regulations, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Natura 2000 network, outside the strict EU borders through the Barcelona Convention may further promote common baseline data and research practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, a total of 1,231 marine sites of variable protection level have been identified in the Mediterranean Sea, corresponding to 7.14% of its total surface area (MedPAN and UNEP/MAP-SPA/RAC, 2016). Although existing well-enforced Mediterranean MPAs are effective at local scales (Giakoumi et al, 2017), they fail to accommodate the conservation of biodiversity at a regional scale through a unified approach (Giakoumi et al, 2012a). The majority of MPAs have been declared as such in an unsystematic manner, i.e., not following a common set of selection criteria and with little or no quantitative information to guide their designation (Giakoumi et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assembling Ecological Pieces to Reconstruct the Conservation Puzzle of the Aegean Sea

et al. 2017

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The effective conservation of marine biodiversity through an integrated ecosystem-based management approach requires a sound knowledge of the spatial distribution of habitats and species. Although costly in terms of time and resources, acquiring such information is essential for the development of rigorous management plans and the meaningful prioritization of conservation actions. Located in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean, the Aegean Sea represents a stronghold for marine biodiversity. However, conservation efforts are hampered by the apparent lack of spatial information regarding marine habitats and species. This work is the first to address this knowledge gap by assembling, updating, and mapping information on the distribution of key ecological components. A range of data sources and methodological approaches was utilized to compile and complement the available data on 68 ecological features of conservation interest (58 animal species, six habitat categories, and four other vulnerable ecological features). A standardized data evaluation procedure was applied, based on five semi-quantitative data quality indicators in the form of a pedigree matrix. This approach assessed the sufficiency of the datasets and allowed the identification of the main sources of uncertainty, highlighting aspects that require further investigation. The overall dataset was found to be sufficient in terms of reliability and spatiotemporal relevance. However, it lacked in completeness, showing that there are still large areas of the Aegean that remain understudied, while further research is needed to elucidate the distribution patterns and conservation status of several ecological features; especially the less charismatic Sini et al.Aegean Sea Conservation Puzzle ones and those found in waters deeper than 40 m. Moreover, existing conservation measures appear to be inadequate to safeguard biodiversity. Only 2.3% of the study area corresponds to designated areas for conservation, while 41 of the ecological features are underrepresented in these areas. Considering the high geomorphological complexity and transnational character of the Aegean Sea, this study does not offer a complete account of the multifaceted diversity of this ecoregion. Instead, it represents a significant starting point and a solid basis for the development of systematic conservation plans that will allow the effective protection of biodiversity within an adaptive management framework.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assembling Ecological Pieces to Reconstruct the Conservation Puzzle of the Aegean Sea

et al. 2017

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“…However, we acknowledge that large-scale fishing, mainly industrial fishing, is driven by specific features, e.g., the migratory paths of commercial pelagic species. The availability of data on Vessel Monitoring Systems applied in large-scale fisheries in most Mediterranean countries could improve the estimation of the spatial distribution of such commercial fisheries (Maiorano et al 2009, Giakoumi et al 2012a). We propose that future studies address these shortages of data in the Mediterranean Sea, and as information and data become readily available, our priorities can be validated and appropriately adjusted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, no large-scale conservation plans for the Mediterranean Sea have explicitly included cost (Giakoumi et al 2012b, Micheli et al 2013. Only several small-scale Mediterranean studies have addressed the cost of marine conservation within the framework of systematic conservation planning (Fraschetti et al 2009, Maiorano et al 2009, Giakoumi et al 2011, 2012a. Large-scale planning is important for the Mediterranean Sea (Portman et al 2013), but without incorporating cost, the ability of plans to aid decision makers can only go so far.…”

Section: Mediterranean Sea Conservation Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large‐scale conservation planning in a multinational marine environment: cost matters

Mazor

Giakoumi

Kark

et al. 2014

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Explicitly including cost in marine conservation planning is essential for achieving feasible and efficient conservation outcomes. Yet, spatial priorities for marine conservation are still often based solely on biodiversity hotspots, species richness, and/or cumulative threat maps. This study aims to provide an approach for including cost when planning large-scale Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks that span multiple countries. Here, we explore the incorporation of cost in the complex setting of the Mediterranean Sea. In order to include cost in conservation prioritization, we developed surrogates that account for revenue from multiple marine sectors: commercial fishing, noncommercial fishing, and aquaculture. Such revenue can translate into an opportunity cost for the implementation of an MPA network. Using the software Marxan, we set conservation targets to protect 10% of the distribution of 77 threatened marine species in the Mediterranean Sea. We compared nine scenarios of opportunity cost by calculating the area and cost required to meet our targets. We further compared our spatial priorities with those that are considered consensus areas by several proposed prioritization schemes in the Mediterranean Sea, none of which explicitly considers cost. We found that for less than 10% of the Sea's area, our conservation targets can be achieved while incurring opportunity costs of less than 1%. In marine systems, we reveal that area is a poor cost surrogate and that the most effective surrogates are those that account for multiple sectors or stakeholders. Furthermore, our results indicate that including cost can greatly influence the selection of spatial priorities for marine conservation of threatened species. Although there are known limitations in multinational large-scale planning, attempting to devise more systematic and rigorous planning methods is especially critical given that collaborative conservation action is on the rise and global financial crisis restricts conservation investments.

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“…For these reasons, there is nowadays agreement on the need of complementary protection measures to be coupled to the establishment of MPAs [14,15]. These complementary measures aim at implementing management schemes at the scale at which ecosystems processes occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenge of Managing Marine Biodiversity: A Practical Toolkit for a Cartographic, Territorial Approach

et al. 2012

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An approach to the management of marine biodiversity was developed based on two levels of environmental diagnostics: (1) the characterization (to identify types), and (2) the evaluation (to define status and values). Both levels involve the production of maps, namely: (i) morphobathymetry and sedimentology; (ii) habitats; (iii) natural emergencies; (iv) degradation and risk; (v) weighted vulnerability; (vi) environmental quality; and, (vii) susceptibility to use. A general methodological aspect that must be stated first is the need of dividing the mapped area in territorial units corresponding to submultiples of the UTM grid and having different sizes according to the scale adopted. Territorial units (grid cells) are assigned to one of five classes of evaluation, ranging from high necessity of conservation or protection to non-problematic, unimportant or already compromised (according to the specific map) situations. Depending on the scale, these maps are suited OPEN ACCESSDiversity 2012, 4 420 for territorial planning (small scales, allowing for a synoptic view) or for administration and decision making (large scales, providing detail on local situations and problems). Mapping should be periodically repeated (diachronic cartography) to assure an efficient tool for integrated coastal zone management.

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Could European marine conservation policy benefit from systematic conservation planning?

Cited by 41 publications

References 50 publications

Assembling Ecological Pieces to Reconstruct the Conservation Puzzle of the Aegean Sea

Assembling Ecological Pieces to Reconstruct the Conservation Puzzle of the Aegean Sea

Large‐scale conservation planning in a multinational marine environment: cost matters

The Challenge of Managing Marine Biodiversity: A Practical Toolkit for a Cartographic, Territorial Approach

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