Q 16 - How to prioritize areas for conservation (designation of new MPAs)?

Narrower “Questions”

• Q 17 - How to identify priority areas for conservation of pelagic biodiversity?

• Q 18 - How to identify priority areas for preserving/restoring reef-forming species such as oysters Lanice conchilega or mussels?

• Q 37 - How to maintain local retention / population persistence within the MPA?

• Q 36 - How to maintain mobile species persistence (and connectivity) and population/community persistence (passive connectivity) across a transboundary MPA?

• Q 58 - How to protect vulnerable species against climatic stressors?

• Q 33 - What are the environmental legislation/criteria guidance for MPA designation including socio-economic criteria (Commission’s SWD, EU Directives, IUCN, new criteria UNCLOS?)

Related sites

• Western Black Sea

• Belgian part of the North Sea

Answers

ESE1 - Ecological toolkit

Practices: Scoping Data collection and presentation Analysis and diagnosis Prioritisation and designation

Spatial scales: Transboundary / sea basin National Regional / local

Protection regimes: Strict protection Non-strict protection

Marine zones: Coastal zone Deep sea Offshore zone

Criteria classes: 1.1 Functional 1.1.1 Vulnerability 1.1.2 Stability 1.1.3 Functional hotspots 1.1.4. Life cycle critical areas 1.1.5 Climate-smart potential 1.2 Structural 1.3 Genetic 1.4 Ecological status

Criteria

• Category Ecological and genetic criteria

  • Subcategory Functional

    • Macro-criterion Vulnerability

    • Macro-criterion Stability

    • Macro-criterion Functional hotspots

    • Macro-criterion Life cycle critical areas

    • Macro-criterion Climate-smart potential

  • Subcategory Structural

  • Subcategory Genetic

  • Subcategory Ecological status

Implementation details

To answer this question, we highly recommend to read the guidance inclusive of anthropogenic and climatic stressors as driver of changes (CAMBRA et al,. 2024). The following criteria of Kotta et al., 2024 are also particularly relevant to support the process: Stability, Functional hotspots, Life-cycle critical areas to identify areas of conservation priority (e.g., refuge areas, feeding areas and nurseries grounds, key functionnal areas with high level of functional diversity). Example of priority areas includes Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) areas.

• Step 1: Define the conservation objectives (target (D3.3 - chapter2), pathways (D3.3 - 5.2.2)) and hierarchized them based on local context (including social, economical and ecological component), conventions objectives and feasability (regarding Data and difficulty to reach a trad-off among users). In this step you also need to define the complexity of analysis to perform by eventually hierarchising the degree on which you will try to interconnect social, econonomical and ecological component. In the conservation pathways, ecological issues should be the focus before sociological and economical component but the final balance depends on the objectives defined.

• Step 2: Perform an analysis of risk (step 2 to 5 of the Guidance)

• Step 3: Propose different MPA network designs with connectivity as one of the main consideration in the design. You can be supported in the designation process by the chater 6 of the D3.4 in which you can find a list of criteria to define climate-smart MPA and MPA networks.

• Step 4: Enter in the Trade-off process (cf ESE3)

Notes

Kotta et al. (2024) Ecological toolkit (ESE1) for MPAs prioritization and networking. Deliverable – D3.4., under the WP3 of MSP4BIO project (GA n° 101060707)

Cambra et al (2024). Guidance for including climate change scenarios in protection and prioritization strategies for Marine Protected Areas development. Deliverable D3.3, under the WP3 of MSP4BIO project (GA n° 101060707)

16 - How to prioritize areas for conservation (designation of new MPAs)?