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?)#

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Answers#

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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

Implementation details

A synthesis of up-to-date criteria to define climate-smart MPA was performed in the MSP4BIO guidance. This list of criteria should be regularly revised but represent a good basis on a ecological point of view.

Deliverable 2.2 categorizes 4 Types of Criteria Lists based on their purpose and the ones deemed relevant to the question are listed below.

Type 3 is particularly relevant to this question. This information may provide guidance to answering this question on environmental legislation/criteria guidance for the designation of an MPA, however with regards to socioeconomic criteria this is more appropriately answered by the other ESE modules.

Type 1: Lists used for the identification of significant areas for conservation e.g. Important Bird and Biodiversity Area, Cetacean Critical Habitat and Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs)), which can inform decision making for the identification of areas to be protected.

Type 2: Lists used for the identification of significant ecological features for conservation, including lists of species and habitats for conservation purposes. For example, the IUCN developed criteria to decide which species or other ecological features should be on their red list. These lists, such as the IUCN red list and the conservation status categories they defined with criteria lists, inform the identification of significant areas or the designation of ABMTs.

Type 3: Lists used for the designation of suitable areas for implementing area-based management tools (ABMTs). These lists are used to delineate an area for which conservation measures will be implemented through officially recognized MPAs, as well as OECMs. For example, criteria used to inform the designation of Natura 2000 sites, or criteria for suitable areas for designating Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas, an OECM managed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

For further information on the criteria lists used for the designation of suitable areas for implementing area-based management tools (ABMTs), you will find examples at Global, European and Regional level on page 27 of D2.2.

Notes

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) chapter 6.1.1