ESE1 - Ecological toolkit#
Description#
ESE1, the Ecological Toolkit, improves decision-making processes for MPAs by helping to prioritise protected areas, integrate connectivity processes and assess the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems for both current and future scenarios. The Toolkit provides a range of solutions and a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help decision-makers navigate the complex processes of MPA prioritisation and connectivity. ESE1 integrates a set of operational and enhanced ecological and climate-related criteria derived from systematic reviews and desktop analyses as outlined in MSP4BIO project WP2 (D2.2) and WP3 (D3.2 and D3.3). It also includes guidance on incorporating climate change scenarios into protection and prioritisation strategies for the development of climate-smart MPAs, as detailed in WP3, D3.3. This comprehensive approach will ensure that MPAs are designed and managed with the latest ecological knowledge and climate resilience principles. Based on a curated set of ecological criteria, this guide guides through the essential steps of vulnerability assessment for prioritising conservation actions in MPAs. It provides methodologies that equip stakeholders with the tools to develop conservation scenarios that are resilient to climate change.
Ecological toolkit (ESE1) for MPAs prioritization and networking. Deliverable – D3.4., under the WP3 of MSP4BIO project (GA n° 101060707)
Additional details#
ESE1 - Ecological toolkit (Scoping)#
Additional steps of the scoping phase, relevant for the ecological aspects:
Definition of the ecological approach. Clarify whether the approach is area-based, species-based or a combination of both.
Specification of the bio-ecological target. Identify the elements of priority for conservation, from individual species to ecosystem level, based on the scope and geographical area of the question, specifying the target as precisely as possible (e.g., Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems - VME, whales, Posidonia meadows) and the species level where available (e.g., Eunicella cavolinii). Elements to support decision making in the face of climate change can be found in the D3.3 guide.
Identification of the criteria to prioritize species/ecosystems for conservation. This step defines the identification of conservation priorities, supported by the lists of species/habitat priority conservation criteria at global, European and regional levels and clustered at the level of geographical regions, as reported in D2.2 (Table 9, Annex 2). Detailed guidance on how to prioritise ecological elements and related criteria is also reported in D3.3, section 2.5. Table 2 in D3.3 reports a step-by-step process, modified from Swan et al. (2017), for identifying key species. The most common strategy is risk or threat assessment (Le Berre et al., 2019). Another strategy is based on vulnerability to specific threats due to climate change and/or human activities. Other approaches can be based on conservation concerns (intrinsic value of species, e.g., rarity or local distribution and endemism, national importance, genetic or taxonomic uniqueness, phylogenetic distinctiveness) or value of resources or ecosystem services (economic value, attractive species, cultural importance) or ecological distinctiveness (e.g., ecological range, functional role, keystone species, propagation potential, La Berre et al., 2019). The three main criteria for species prioritization are: (1) Services criteria (role that the species deliver to human, including social and economic indicators, generally ranked by the users themselves (D4.1), (2) Ecological criteria (role that the species exerts in the environment and trophic networks that could also be linked to species traits, D2.2 and D3.2) and (3) Climatic/non-climatic criteria linked to species sensitivity (including resistance, recovery and adaptive potential) link to their inner traits (see D3.3). The three rankings will provide a final score that could highlight the species to prioritize regarding the creation of management patterns. This ranking system needs to be defined and is outside the scope of this deliverable.
Identification of macro-criteria and potential methodological strategies (to be analysed in the following practices). In this step macro-criteria are indicated depending on the other defined scoping steps, and methodological approaches are suggested. This step also guides practices 2-4. When a macro-criterion is identified in the scoping, a selection of inner criteria and suggested methodological strategies will follow (e.g., for vulnerability, cf. Section 3.1.2).
ESE1 - Ecological toolkit (Analysis and diagnosis)#
To clarify and quantify the cause-effect nexus, macro-criteria should be assessed by using their respective indicators, and specific DSTs can be applied.
References
Ecological toolkit (ESE1) for MPAs prioritization and networking. Deliverable – D3.4., under the WP3 of MSP4BIO project (GA n° 101060707)