Land use patterns and influences of protected areas on mangroves of the eastern tropical Pacific

López-Angarita, Juliana; Tilley, Alexander; Hawkins, Julie P.; Pedraza, Carlos; Roberts, Callum M.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.08.020

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Material 1). Global loss of mangrove forests has since slowed to 0.11% year - 1 64,65 , with stable mangrove populations along the Pacific coast of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama 66 , and increasing populations in the Red Sea 67 , Arabian Gulf 68 and China 69 . Large-scale restoration of saltmarshes and oyster reefs has occurred in Europe and the USA (Fig.…”

Section: Habitat Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rebuilding marine life

Duarte

Agustı́

Barbier

et al. 2020

Nature

691

480

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The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 aims to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". Achieving this goal will require rebuilding the marine life-support systems that deliver the many benefits society receives from a healthy ocean. In this Review we document the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions. Recovery rates across studies suggest that substantial recovery of the abundance, structure, and function of marine life could be achieved by 2050, should major pressures, including climate change, be mitigated. Rebuilding marine life represents a doable Grand Challenge for humanity, an ethical obligation, and a smart economic objective to achieve a sustainable future. The ability of the ocean to support human wellbeing is at a crossroads. The ocean currently contributes 2.5% of global GDP and provides employment to 1.5% of the global workforce 1 , with an estimated output of US$1.5 trillion in 2010, expected to double by 2030 1. And there is increased attention on the ocean as a source of food and water 2 , clean energy 1 , and as a means to mitigate climate change 3,4. At the same time, many marine species, habitats and ecosystems have suffered catastrophic declines 5-8 and climate change is further undermining ocean productivity and biodiversity 9-14 (Fig. 1). The conflict between growing human dependence on ocean resources and declining marine life under human pressures (Fig. 1) is focusing unprecedented attention on the connection between ocean conservation and human well-being 15. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14 or "life below water") aims to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development" (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14). Achieving this goal will require rebuilding marine life, defined in the context of SDG14 as the life-support systems (populations, habitats, and ecosystems) that deliver the many benefits society receives from a healthy ocean 16,17. Here we show that, in addition to being a necessary goal, substantially rebuilding marine life within a human generation is largely achievable, if the required actions, prominently mitigating climate change, are deployed at scale. Slowing the decline of marine life and achieving net gains By the time the general public admired life below water through the "Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" (1968-1976), the abundance of large marine animals was already greatly reduced 5-7,18. And the abundance of marine animals and habitats that support ecosystems services has shrunk to a fraction of what was in place when the first frameworks to conserve and sustain marine life were introduced in the 1980s (Fig. 1), to a fraction of pre-exploitation levels 5,6,19,20. Currently, at least one-third of fish stocks are overfished 21 , one-third to half of vulnerable marine habitats have been lost 8 , a substantial fraction of the coastal ocean suffers from pollution, eutrophication, oxygen d...

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Section: Habitat Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rebuilding marine life

Duarte

Agustı́

Barbier

et al. 2020

Nature

691

480

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“…Understanding the causes of mangrove loss is important for establishing opportunities for blue carbon projects (Macreadie et al., 2019). In particular, quantifying the reasons for mangrove loss is critical towards estimation of carbon emissions (López‐Angarita, Tilley, Hawkins, Pedraza, & Roberts, 2018; Sasmito et al., 2019), and the opportunities for enhancing blue carbon through management (López‐Angarita et al., 2018). Using two‐high resolution datasets on mangrove extent (Giri et al., 2011) and global deforestation (Hansen et al., 2013), mangrove loss in Southeast Asia was primarily associated with anthropogenic land conversion to agriculture and aquaculture (Richards & Friess, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global declines in human‐driven mangrove loss

Goldberg

Lagomasino

Thomas

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

572

331

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Global mangrove loss has been attributed primarily to human activity. Anthropogenic loss hotspots across Southeast Asia and around the world have characterized the ecosystem as highly threatened, though natural processes such as erosion can also play a significant role in forest vulnerability. However, the extent of human and natural threats has not been fully quantified at the global scale. Here, using a Random Forest‐based analysis of over one million Landsat images, we present the first 30 m resolution global maps of the drivers of mangrove loss from 2000 to 2016, capturing both human‐driven and natural stressors. We estimate that 62% of global losses between 2000 and 2016 resulted from land‐use change, primarily through conversion to aquaculture and agriculture. Up to 80% of these human‐driven losses occurred within six Southeast Asian nations, reflecting the regional emphasis on enhancing aquaculture for export to support economic development. Both anthropogenic and natural losses declined between 2000 and 2016, though slower declines in natural loss caused an increase in their relative contribution to total global loss area. We attribute the decline in anthropogenic losses to the regionally dependent combination of increased emphasis on conservation efforts and a lack of remaining mangroves viable for conversion. While efforts to restore and protect mangroves appear to be effective over decadal timescales, the emergence of natural drivers of loss presents an immediate challenge for coastal adaptation. We anticipate that our results will inform decision‐making within conservation and restoration initiatives by providing a locally relevant understanding of the causes of mangrove loss.

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“…In general, where responsible fishing zones had been established, fishers said they were important and that catch had increased, but research in Colombia suggests that the ZEPA may not have reduced overall effort, but rather merely displace it to other areas (López-Angarita, Tilley, Díaz, et al ., 2018). Analysis of landings and catch per unit effort support the anecdotal success attributed to responsible fishing areas in terms of fisheries productivity (López-Angarita et al, 2018), but more studies are needed to assess their protection for sharks in particular. News of these successes has spread to other areas in Colombia and Costa Rica with newly established areas such as the Regional District of Integrated Management (DRMI) in the Gulf of Tribuga in 2015 (Satizábal, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying nearshore nursery habitats for sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific from fisheries landings and interviews

Angarita¹,

Villate²,

Díaz³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) comprising the coasts of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, represents an area of high marine biodiversity that supports productive fisheries, and acts as an important migratory corridor for many marine species. Despite its biological importance, the ETP is understudied and lacks sufficient data for science-based fisheries management and conservation decision-making. The aim of this study is to consolidate understanding of the current and historical distribution of sharks and mobulid rays in the ETP. We used interviews of coastal community stakeholders to document traditional knowledge of shark and mobulid ray species and distributions. We also analysed small-scale fisheries landings data, where available, to quantify local exploitation patterns and the importance of sharks and rays in small-scale fisheries catches. All shark species landed in the dominant nearshore gillnet fishery show very low mean individuals weights (<5 kg), indicating that the fisheries are dominated by juveniles, captured . Aside from smooth-hounds (Mustelus spp.), the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, is the most frequently landed shark species in the region by weight and number, with peaks in abundance between April - July. From 132 interviews in 51 communities across the three countries, and landings data from two small-scale fisheries sites, we identified 41 sites in 12 broad geographical zones as important shark nursery habitats. Of these sites, 68% were associated closely with large mangrove systems of the ETP, highlighting the importance of this habitat for shark life history. No patterns were seen in the occurrence or distribution of mobulid rays in coastal areas. Marine protected areas and responsible fishing zones cover 37% of identified nursery habitats in the ETP, 30% in Costa Rica, 48% in Panama and 30% in Colombia. These findings provide an important indicator of conservation status of sharks in the ETP, and allow for prioritising and informing the work still to do.

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Land use patterns and influences of protected areas on mangroves of the eastern tropical Pacific

Cited by 25 publications

References 44 publications

Rebuilding marine life

Rebuilding marine life

Global declines in human‐driven mangrove loss

Identifying nearshore nursery habitats for sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific from fisheries landings and interviews

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