Representation does not necessarily reduce threats to biodiversity: Australia's Commonwealth marine protected area system, 2012–2018

Cockerell, Brayden; Pressey, Robert L.; Grech, Alana; Álvarez‐Romero, Jorge G.; Ward, Trevor; Devillers, Rodolphe

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108813

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(92 reference statements)

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“…First, all the PPAs we examined were part of established co-management systems with high legitimacy in the eyes of coastal communities and governments (Januchowski-Hartley et al 2014, Cohen and Steenbergen 2015, Smallhorn-West et al 2020a). If PPAs are designated, implemented, and enforced through top-down governance regimes where people feel that the rules are not created equitably (Mascia et al 2010), or in locally https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol27/iss1/art26/ managed systems with low legitimacy in the eyes of the government, or where management configurations are politically motivated so as to minimize overlap with resource use (Cockerell et al 2020), then there may be different results as a consequence. Second, data limitations for this study meant that we could not employ a fully crossed sampling design, which would have enabled assessments of the precise mechanisms that drive changes in catch composition and population dynamics through time under partial protection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden benefits and risks of partial protection for coral reef fisheries

Smallhorn‐West¹,

Cohen²,

Morais³

et al. 2022

E&S

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Partially protected areas are now the dominant global form of spatial management aimed at preserving ecosystem integrity and managing human use. However, most evaluations of their efficacy use only a narrow set of conservation indicators that reflect a fraction of ways in which protection can succeed or fail. In this paper, we examine three case studies of partially protected coral reef fishery systems to evaluate benefits and risks of their use as a management tool. We use data from community-based management arrangements in three Pacific Island countries to demonstrate three vignettes of how partial protection can boost fisheries production, enhance the ease with which fishers catch their prey, and alter the composition of fisheries yields. These changes in fisheries productivity, catchability, and vulnerability under partial protection carry substantial benefits for fishers. However, they also carry significant risks for ecosystems and fisheries livelihoods unless adaptively managed so as to confer the short to medium term benefits in resource performance without risking longer term sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden benefits and risks of partial protection for coral reef fisheries

Smallhorn‐West¹,

Cohen²,

Morais³

et al. 2022

E&S

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“…If protection seeks to maximize opportunity costs, then the factual loss of biodiversity is relatively low and impact relatively high. Adapted from Pressey et al (2015) that threaten nature (Andam et al, 2008;Cockerell et al, 2020;Devillers et al, 2015;Joppa & Pfaff, 2009;Stevenson et al, 2020) (Box 1). The only chance of achieving impact from an area that is managed residually is by its potential effects on future human actions if available resources within managed areas become more appealing.…”

Section: Conservation Target: Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, the widespread emphasis on minimizing opportunity costs in conservation planning, that is minimizing forgone extractive activities, has resulted in the paradoxical development of conservation goals that are often achieved with little actual impact for nature, a process termed “residual” conservation (Andam et al, 2008; Cockerell et al, 2020; Devillers et al, 2015; Joppa & Pfaff, 2009; Stevenson et al, 2020) (Figure 1). This is highlighted by two widely used, yet potentially perverse goals in conservation planning: extent and representation (Pressey et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why does conservation minimize opportunity costs?

Smallhorn‐West

Pressey

2022

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Effective management of depleted natural resources can be achieved only through changes in human actions. Opportunity costs represent the forgone benefits that would have flowed in the absence of conservation interventions. To the extent that opportunity costs reflect lost opportunities for extractive uses (e.g., fishing or logging), and to the extent that those extractive uses present threats to nature, opportunity costs therefore reflect the positive differences for natural values that can be made through conservation management. Thus, logic dictates that, if conservationists make choices to minimize opportunity costs, they are also necessarily limiting their impact. Unfortunately, empirical evidence from many conservation contexts implies that conservationists indeed make choices consistent with an aim to minimize opportunitycosts, and hence impact. A better understanding of the relationship between opportunity costs and conservation impact will make the language used to communicate conservation progress, targets, and planning more honest and accountable and more explicitly focused on the differences our actions make.

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“…As a result of government action, the global coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs) has increased from 2 million km 2 in 2000 to 28.6 million km 2 in 2020, equivalent to 7.9% of the global ocean (UNEP-WCMC et al, 2020). However, far less progress has been made in ensuring that these protected areas: (1) safeguard the most important areas for biodiversity; (2) are ecologically representative and well connected; (3) are integrated into the wider landscape and seascape; and (4) are equitably and effectively managed (CBD, 2020a;Cockerell et al, 2020). Similarly, efforts vary at the national scale, as while some high-income countries have protected 10% of their national waters (Figure 1a), much of this growth has been driven by these countries designating large MPAs in their overseas territories, 10 of which are >800,000 km 2 and account for 65% of global coverage (UNEP-WCMC et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fulfilling global marine commitments; lessons learned from Gabon

Metcalfe

White

Lee

et al. 2022

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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As part of the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, nations are assessing progress over the past decade in addressing the underlying drivers that influence direct pressures on biodiversity and formulating new policies and strategies for the decade to come. For marine conservation, global marine protected area (MPA) coverage is still falling short of the 10% target set in 2010. Here we show that while this reflects a lack of progress in many low-and middle-income countries, a few of these nations have met or exceeded international commitments. To provide an in-depth explanation of how this was achieved in Gabon, we summarize the lessons learnt by our consortium of policy makers and practitioners who helped implement a comprehensive and ecologically representative network of 20 MPAs. We show the importance of creating a national framework, building long-term stakeholder support, and focusing on research that guides implementation and policy; and outline a four-step approach that countries and donors could use as an example to help meet international commitments. By responding to calls to share lessons learned to inform future Convention on Biological Diversity targets, we show how Gabon's experiences could inform change elsewhere.

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Representation does not necessarily reduce threats to biodiversity: Australia's Commonwealth marine protected area system, 2012–2018

Cited by 10 publications

References 85 publications

Hidden benefits and risks of partial protection for coral reef fisheries

Hidden benefits and risks of partial protection for coral reef fisheries

Why does conservation minimize opportunity costs?

Fulfilling global marine commitments; lessons learned from Gabon

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