The importance of mangroves to people: a call to action

This global synthesis report serves as a call to action to decision makers. It provides a science-based synthesis of the different types of goods and services provided by mangroves and the associated risks in losing these services in the face of ongoing global habitat loss and degradation. The report provides management and policy options at the local, regional and global level with the aim of preventing further losses through effective conservation measures, sustainable management and successful restoration. In addition to the report, key figures and maps are available to download as individual files

The importance of mangroves to people: a call to action

This global synthesis report serves as a call to action to decision makers. It provides a science-based synthesis of the different types of goods and services provided by mangroves and the associated risks in losing these services in the face of ongoing global habitat loss and degradation. The report provides management and policy options at the local, regional and global level with the aim of preventing further losses through effective conservation measures, sustainable management and successful restoration. In addition to the report, key figures and maps are available to download as individual files

Addressing transboundary conservation challenges through marine spatial prioritization

The Adriatic and Ionian Region (AIR) is an important area for both strategic maritime development and biodiversity conservation in the European Union (EU). However, given that both EU and non‐EU countries border the sea, multiple legal and regulatory frameworks operate at different scales which can hinder the coordinated long‐term sustainable development of the region. Transboundary marine (or maritime) spatial planning can help overcome these challenges by building consensus on planning objectives and making the trade‐offs between biodiversity conservation and its influence on economically important sectors more explicit. We approach this challenge by developing and testing four spatial prioritization strategies, using the decision‐support tool Marxan, which meets targets for biodiversity conservation whilst minimizing impacts to users. We evaluate these strategies in terms of how priority areas shift under different scales of target‐setting (e.g. regional versus country‐level). We also examine the trade‐off between cost‐efficiency and how equally solutions represent countries and maritime industries (N = 14) operating in the region using the Protection Equality metric. We show that there are negligible differences in where priority conservation areas are located when we set targets for biodiversity at the regional versus country scale. Conversely, the prospective impacts on industries, when considered as costs to be minimized, are highly divergent across scenarios and bias the placement of protection towards industries located in isolation or with few other industries. We conclude by making several recommendations to underpin future MSP efforts in the region, including the identification of: 1) areas of national significance, 2) transboundary areas requiring cooperation between countries, and 3) areas where impacts on maritime industries require careful consideration of the trade‐off between biodiversity conservation and socio‐economic objectives

The CBD Post‐2020 biodiversity framework: People's place within the rest of nature

Recognizing two decades of failure to achieve global goals and targets, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are in the final phase of negotiating a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for the conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing of biodiversity. The framework attempts to set out pathways, goals and targets for the next decade to achieve positive biodiversity change. This perspective intends to help that framework set people firmly as part of nature, not apart from it. Despite work done so far through four meetings, new thinking and focus is still needed on ‘what’ changes must be conceptualized and implemented, and ‘how’ those changes are to be delivered. To help achieve that new thinking, as a broad range of people, many with a focus on aquatic systems, we highlight six key foci that offer potential to strengthen delivery of the framework and break the ‘business as usual’ logjam. These foci are as follows: (i) a reframing of the narrative of ‘people's relationship with the rest of nature’ and emphasize the crucial role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in delivering positive biodiversity change; (ii) moving beyond a focus on species and places by prioritizing ecosystem function and resilience; (iii) supporting a diversity of top-down and bottom-up governance processes; (iv) embracing new technologies to make and measure progress; (v) linking business more effectively with biodiversity and (vi) leveraging the power of international agencies and programmes. Given they are linked to a greater or lesser degree, implementing these six foci together will lead to a much-needed broadening of the framework, especially those of business and broader urban civil society, as well as those of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Marine protected areas and ocean conservation

Tundi Spring Agardy.244 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm

On the Management of Blue Marlin and White Marlin in the Atlantic: Implications for Foreign Longlining and Domestic Sportsfishing

The twentieth century has wjtnessed the exponential growth of world-wide populations, and with it the over-exploitation of previously abundant resources. The limits inherent in terrestrial food production have necessitated increased utilization of wor1d marine resources. Improved technology has enabled fishing fleets to harvest with a level of efficiency that in many cases has endangered the existence of commercial fishstocks. In the northwestern Atlantic, the price of ever-increasing harvesting has been the near decimation of several species. Haddock, herring and bluefin tuna are only a few stocks which have suffered from over-fishing. Blue marlin and white marlin are two species which have similarly been exploited with greater and greater frequency, but for very different reasons. Being large, predatory fish that are often found in association with yellowfin and other tunas, marlin are susceptible to being caught as by-catch in fisheries primarily directed at tuna. That the incidental by-catch of non-tuna species on longline is in high proportion to total catch is not news, but that this incidental catch might seriously affect fishstocks is only now becoming apparent. In fact, until L .J. Hoey presented his dissertation on the composition of longline by-catch, virtually nothing was known about how longlining activities in the north Atlantic might be affecting the ecology of the region

Introduction to Marine Conservation Biology (Lessons in Conservation, v. I, pp. 5-43)

40 p.This document is specifically about those aspects of marine biology that are used in marine conservation. It is not intended to be a complete primer on marine conservation, which incorporates other sciences (most notably the social sciences) as well as traditional knowledge. To learn more about other aspects of marine conservation, please refer to the following marine modules: Marine Conservation Policy, Marine Protected Areas and MPA Networks, and International Treaties for Marine Conservation and Management, all of which complement this module