scholarly journals Holistic Environmental Approaches and Aichi Biodiversity Targets: accomplishments and perspectives for marine ecosystems

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e8171
Author(s):  
Elliot Dreujou ◽  
Charlotte Carrier-Belleau ◽  
Jesica Goldsmit ◽  
Dario Fiorentino ◽  
Radhouane Ben-Hamadou ◽  
...  

In order to help safeguard biodiversity from global changes, the Conference of the Parties developed a Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011–2020 that included a list of twenty specific objectives known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. With the end of that timeframe in sight, and despite major advancements in biodiversity conservation, evidence suggests that the majority of the Targets are unlikely to be met. This article is part of a series of perspective pieces from the 4th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (May 2018, Montréal, Canada) to identify next steps towards successful biodiversity conservation in marine environments. We specifically reviewed holistic environmental assessment studies (HEA) and their contribution to reaching the Targets. Our analysis was based on multiple environmental approaches which can be considered as holistic, and we discuss how HEA can contribute to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the near future. We found that only a few HEA articles considered a specific Biodiversity Target in their research, and that Target 11, which focuses on marine protected areas, was the most commonly cited. We propose five research priorities to enhance HEA for marine biodiversity conservation beyond 2020: (i) expand the use of holistic approaches in environmental assessments, (ii) standardize HEA vocabulary, (iii) enhance data collection, sharing and management, (iv) consider ecosystem spatio-temporal variability and (v) integrate ecosystem services in HEA. The consideration of these priorities will promote the value of HEA and will benefit the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noella J. Gray ◽  
Rebecca L. Gruby ◽  
Lisa M. Campbell

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) continues to promote marine protected areas (MPAs) as a preferred tool for marine biodiversity conservation, in spite of concerns over their effectiveness and equity. However, explanations for this consensus on the utility of MPAs focus primarily on their measurability and ignore the ways in which they are conceptualized through ongoing governance processes. Drawing on the results of collaborative event ethnography at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the CBD, this paper adopts the concepts of boundary objects and scalar narratives to analyze the ways in which consensus on MPAs is produced, in spite of conflicting understandings of MPA forms and functions. Both a local narrative of participatory MPAs and a global narrative of science driven high seas conservation articulate a regional scale as ideal for MPA governance, although with different priorities. Ultimately, consensus at the CBD is enabled only by accommodating competing visions of MPAs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irawan Asaad ◽  
Carolyn J. Lundquist ◽  
Mark V. Erdmann ◽  
Mark J. Costello

Abstract. An online atlas of the Coral Triangle region of the Indo-Pacific biogeographic realm was developed. This online atlas consists of the three interlinked parts: (1) Biodiversity Features; (2) Areas of Importance for Biodiversity Conservation; (3) recommended priorities for Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network Expansion (http://www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/CTMAPS). The first map, Biodiversity Features, provides comprehensive data on the region's marine protected areas and biodiversity features, threats, and environmental characteristics. The second provides spatial information on areas of high biodiversity conservation values, while the third map shows priority areas for expanding the current Coral Triangle MPA network. This atlas provides the most comprehensive biodiversity datasets that have been assembled for the region. The datasets were retrieved and generated systematically from various open-access sources. To engage a wider audience and to raise participation in biodiversity conservation, the maps were designed as an interactive and online atlas. This atlas presents representative information to promote a better understanding of the key marine and coastal biodiversity characteristics of the region and enables the application of marine biodiversity informatics to support marine ecosystem-based management in the Coral Triangle region.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Scott Rinnan ◽  
Gabriel Reygondeau ◽  
Jennifer McGowan ◽  
Vicky Lam ◽  
Rashid Sumaila ◽  
...  

AbstractMarine protected areas (MPAs) are key to averting continued loss of species and ecosystem services in our oceans, but concerns around economic trade-offs hamper progress. Here we provide optimized planning scenarios for global MPA networks that secure species habitat while minimizing impacts on fisheries revenues. We found that MPA coverage requirements differ vastly among nations, and that two-thirds of nations benefit economically from a collaborative approach. Immediate global protection of marine biodiversity habitat comes with losses of ~19% of total fisheries revenues, but international cooperation in concert with high seas protection improves economic losses for most countries, safeguards all species, and could save ~5B USD annually worldwide. Nations and fishery economies both share benefits from a coordinated approach to conserving marine biodiversity, with direct relevance to current international policies.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Changjun Wan ◽  
Changxiu Cheng ◽  
Sijing Ye ◽  
Shi Shen ◽  
Ting Zhang

Precipitation is an essential climate variable in the hydrologic cycle. Its abnormal change would have a serious impact on the social economy, ecological development and life safety. In recent decades, many studies about extreme precipitation have been performed on spatio-temporal variation patterns under global changes; little research has been conducted on the regionality and persistence, which tend to be more destructive. This study defines extreme precipitation events by percentile method, then applies the spatio-temporal scanning model (STSM) and the local spatial autocorrelation model (LSAM) to explore the spatio-temporal aggregation characteristics of extreme precipitation, taking China in July as a case. The study result showed that the STSM with the LSAM can effectively detect the spatio-temporal accumulation areas. The extreme precipitation events of China in July 2016 have a significant spatio-temporal aggregation characteristic. From the spatial perspective, China’s summer extreme precipitation spatio-temporal clusters are mainly distributed in eastern China and northern China, such as Dongting Lake plain, the Circum-Bohai Sea region, Gansu, and Xinjiang. From the temporal perspective, the spatio-temporal clusters of extreme precipitation are mainly distributed in July, and its occurrence was delayed with an increase in latitude, except for in Xinjiang, where extreme precipitation events often take place earlier and persist longer.


Author(s):  
Jérôme FOURNIER ◽  
Andrea De CASTRO PANIZZA

Este artigo apresenta os diferentes aspectos da proteção do ambiente litorâneo abordando três pontos essenciais. O primeiro evoca a instalação de áreas marinhas protegidas (AMP) em um contexto socioeconômico e político, destacando seu funcionamento e a noção de “ efeito reserva”. O segundo mostra a importância das AMP na proteção da biodiversidade marinha. Finalmente, o terceiro ponto exemplifica a avaliação do meio natural e aborda, de maneira geral, o valor econômico das espécies e da “Natureza” na ocorrência de degradação. Contributions of the marine protected areas for the conservation and management of the marine environment Abstract This article presents the various aspects of the littoral environmental protection by approaching three important points. The first evokes the installation of the marine surfaces protected in a socio-economic and political context. The operation of the reserves and the concept of “ reserve effect “ are explained. The second explains the interest of MPA to protect the marine biodiversity. Lastly, the third point shows the evaluation of the natural environment and more generally of the economic value of the species and “Nature” in the event of degradation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randolph Thaman

Our ability to conserve biodiversity and to adapt to climate, environmental and economic change in the Pacific Islands will be greatly dependent on the conservation, restoration and enrichment of biodiversity within traditional multispecies agricultural land use systems. “Agrobiodiversity” is the most well-known, culturally-useful and accessible biodiversity on most islands and constitutes the most important foundation for ecosystem goods and services that support food, health, energy and livelihood security. This rich Pacific agrobiodiversity heritage, including associated ethnobiodiversity is highly threatened and deserves more prominence in mainstream conservation initiatives as a foundation for long-term sustainability. Such action is in line with Aichi Biodiversity Targets 7 and 13 which set goals for sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and the maintenance of genetic diversity as critical for successful biodiversity conservation globally. It is also supported by the findings of the Japan Satoyama-Satoumi Assessment, which stresses the critical importance of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provided by traditional agricultural and village landscapes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 369-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piero Calosi ◽  
Hollie M. Putnam ◽  
Richard J. Twitchett ◽  
Fanny Vermandele

Evolution, extinction, and dispersion are fundamental processes affecting marine biodiversity. Until recently, studies of extant marine systems focused mainly on evolution and dispersion, with extinction receiving less attention. Past extinction events have, however, helped shape the evolutionary history of marine ecosystems, with ecological and evolutionary legacies still evident in modern seas. Current anthropogenic global changes increase extinction risk and pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems, which are critical for human use and sustenance. The evaluation of these threats and the likely responses of marine ecosystems requires a better understanding of evolutionary processes that affect marine ecosystems under global change. Here, we discuss how knowledge of ( a) changes in biodiversity of ancient marine ecosystems to past extinctions events, ( b) the patterns of sensitivity and biodiversity loss in modern marine taxa, and ( c) the physiological mechanisms underpinning species’ sensitivity to global change can be exploited and integrated to advance our critical thinking in this area.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
NOam Levin

The economic and socio-political interactions between countries can have major impacts on transboundary conservation decisions and outcomes. Here, we examined for 14 Western Indian Ocean (WIO) continental and island nations the extent of their marine coral reef species, fisheries and marine protected areas (MPAs), in the context of their geopolitical and socio-economic connections. We also examined the role of external countries and organisations in collaboration within the region. We found large variation between the different countries in their protected area size, and management, which result from different interests in establishing the MPAs, ranging from fisheries management, biodiversity conservation to asserting sovereignty claims. Seventy-four per cent of the 154 MPAs in the region belong to island nations; however, the largest MPAs in the WIO were established by European powers, and include Mayotte and Glorioso Islands (France) and Chagos (UK). While the majority of MPAs are managed by individual countries, between-country collaboration within and outside the region is key if the aim is to achieve effective conservation of ecosystems and species across the island and mainland nations in the region. This may be advanced by creating transboundary MPAs and by regional conservation investment by external powers that benefit from the region’s resources.


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