Critical gaps in the protection of the second largest exclusive economic zone in the world

Abstract

Critical gaps in the protection of the second largest exclusive economic zone of the world Running head: Levels of protection matter Highlights: France aims to protect 30% of its marine territory by 2022, with 1/3 in strong protection. The 30% target is already exceeded but Ocean basins are unevenly represented. Only 1.6% of French marine territory falls within fully or highly protected areas. 80% of French full and high protection levels are concentrated in one territory  Protection levels in Metropolitan France are lower than in overseas territories.

The MPA Guide: A framework to achieve global goals for the ocean

“…What is needed to achieve effective ocean protection? To prevent overestimation of how much ocean is actually protected (9,19,25,26), knowledge of the total MPA coverage across different levels of protection is needed at the global scale. This requires assessment of the number, area, and impact of MPAs to ensure these are sufficient to achieve local, national, or international goals for healthy, productive, and resilient ocean ecosystems that support biodiversity and sustainable use (27).…”

Biodiversity policy and subnational implementation in the remote regions of France

“…4.1 ) has helped the country reach the international objectives of protecting at least 17% of its land area and 10% of the waters under its jurisdiction in line with the CBD and the Aichi targets (OECD 2016b). In fact, one third of French waters (both in metropolitan and overseas France) are now marine protected areas (Claudet et al, 2021 ). France has also established protected areas as part of the Natura 2000 network.…”

Mediterranean rocky reefs in the Anthropocene: Present status and future concerns

“…Unevenly distributed across political boundaries and eco-regions, effective levels of protection for biodiversity conservation represent only 0.23% of the Mediterranean Basin (Zupan et al, 2018). In the French Mediterranean, while infralittoral rock and other hard substrata are the habitats most covered by full or high protection, only 2.6% of these habitats receive such levels of protection (Claudet et al, 2021). It is clearly evident that current efforts are insufficient at managing human uses of nature at sea and protection levels should be increased to deliver tangible benefits for biodiversity conservation in general and for these habitats in particular.…”