Stock-taking and Tracking Progress in Establishing Networks of Marine Protected Areas and Achieving Reduction of Biodiversity Loss: how far are we?

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Stock-taking and Tracking Progress in
Establishing Networks of Marine Protected Areas
and Achieving Reduction of Biodiversity Losshow
far are we?
2010
GLOBAL OCEANS CONFERENCE
Simonetta Fraschetti Italian Association of
Oceanography and Limnology, Census of Marine
Life University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
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The consequences of biodiversity loss
- Human pressure on ecological systems often
results in loss in resistance.
- Dramatic shifts in species composition, known
as phase or regime shifts, can be long lasting
and almost irreversible loss in resilience
- Localized human perturbations combined with new
threats such as climate change, invasive species
and ocean acidification contribute to generate
new regimes of disturbances that are expected to
greatly affect the stability and productivity of
marine coastal ecosystems
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Conservation of marine environment
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are considered
effective tools for the conservation and
management of biodiversity.
Expected effects

• causing density-dependent changes in life history
  traits
• protecting the recruitment of commercially
  important species
• protecting marine biodiversity (including genetic
  diversity)
• causing ecosystem-wide effects such as trophic
  cascades
• increasing community and ecosystem stability,
  thus promoting resilience and faster recovery
  from disturbance

Worm et al. 2006. Science
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MPAs can halt biodiversity loss at local
scale
?
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(No Transcript)
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MPAs can halt biodiversity loss at large
scale
?
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Effective MPA networks
2012 deadline to establish representative,
comprehensive and effectively managed MPA
networks 2010 deadline to protect 10 of
global ecoregions
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How to be an effective network?

• Representativeness Adequate representation of
  all biodiversity typologies, physical structures
  and vital functional areas characteristic of the
  region.
• Connectivity Distances between existing MPAs
  should ensure larval connectivity among them,
  providing opportunities to develop regional-scale
  MPA networks
• Legal framework A specific planning process is
  required prior the beginning of the management of
  a MPA and it should produce an official
  Management Plan

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Measuring progress toward globalmarine
conservation targets
Only 4.09 of continental shelf areas are
incorporated within MPAs. Approximately half of
all marine ecoregions have less than 1 MPA
coverage across the shelf.
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Representativeness to protect 1030 of specific
habitats by 2012 Globally consistent measures of
habitat areas are essential to meaningful
assessments of how we are faring with respect to
international conservation targets for 2010 -
2012 We dont know if the protected habitats are
represented at regional scale Important
habitats, often, are not included in the A zone
zonation is to be re-designed Spillover effect
it can be limited by a lack of continuous
suitable habitat through the boundaries of the MPA
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Connectivity which distance to insure
connectivity

• USA suggested size 4-6 km diameter / about 20
  km distance
• Mediterranean Sea long history of human use and
  high population density, difficult application of
  extra Mediterranean criteria

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Legal framework the needof a management plan

• 42 MPAs there is a management plan in place for
  their MPA
• 21 indicated that their management plan is under
  development
• 29 respondents still have not developed any
  management plan

Abdulla et al. 2008
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The way forward

• Reserves should be designed to achieve clear and
  quantifiable objectives, adequately monitored
  before and after establishment, to assess how
  well those objectives are achieved
• To protect 1030 of specific habitats by 2012
  reliable estimates of the total area occupied by
  each habitat
• Globally consistent measures of habitat areas are
  essential to meaningful assessments of how we are
  faring with respect to international conservation
  targets for 2010 2012
• MPAs must not be an alibi to treat unprotected
  marine habitat as we treated terrestrial ones
• Ecosystem based Management outside MPAs a
  thorough management of coastal resources is
  needed