Marine spatial plans focusing on biodiversity conservation: The case of the Aegean Sea

1. The expansion and intensification of marine uses have severe cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems and human well-being, unless they are properly managed with an ecosystem-based management approach.
2. A systematic conservation planning approach, using marxan with zones , was applied to generate alternative marine spatial plans for the Aegean Sea. Relevant human uses were included and their cumulative impact on a wide set of key biodiversity features was considered in the analysis. Different cost scenarios were developed to gain insight on the effects of the approaches used to assess socio-economic factors, and their potential impact on spatial plans.
3. The spatial plans generated differed greatly depending on the method used to estimate opportunity costs and evaluate human activities in monetary terms.
4. The vulnerability weights (the relative vulnerability of ecological features to specific human activities and their impacts) that were estimated based on a cumulative impact assessment, allowed the assessment of each zone in contributing to the achievement of conservation targets, through a transparent planning approach.
5. Results indicate that special care should be given to how socio-economic activities, their impact on the ecosystems, and related costs are incorporated into planning.
6. The proposed approach demonstrates how EU member states may effectively comply with the new Biodiversity Strategy 2030 targets, while planning for the sustainable use of their marine resources.

     

Promoting connectivity between priority freshwater sites for conservation in intermittent hydrological systems

1. Systematic conservation planning in freshwater ecosystems faces multiple challenges because of the dynamic nature of rivers and their multiple dimensions of connectivity. In intermittent hydrological systems connectivity is functional when water is available, allowing the exchange of aquatic individuals between isolated freshwater ecosystems. Integrating these isolated systems in their hydrological context is essential when identifying priority areas for conservation, in order to try to minimize the propagation of threats into target water bodies (management units) from the surrounding landscape.
2. Here, the use of a systematic planning approach is demonstrated to identify a set of priority management units to preserve freshwater biodiversity in an arid system of fragmented water bodies immersed in a landscape subject to a range of impacts.
3. Twenty-six water-dependent taxa from 59 mountain rock pools (gueltas) of three southern Mauritanian mountains were used as a case study. A conservation planning tool (marxan ) was used to find priority conservation areas to integrate intermittent hydrological systems in their hydrological context, promote connectivity, and minimize the downstream propagation of threats. Three types of connectivity were analysed: (i) no connectivity, (ii) connectivity between gueltas, and (iii) connectivity between gueltas and sub-catchments.
4. Considering different types of longitudinal connectivity affects the number and spatial allocation of the priority gueltas selected, and the conservation status of the gueltas and their upstream areas. Incorporating connections between gueltas and upstream locations in the modelling resulted in the selection of gueltas in areas with a low human footprint and in the increased connectivity of the solutions.
5. The results obtained revealed important locations for local biodiversity conservation, and the method presented can be used when assessing the propagation of potential waterborne threats into isolated management units. The framework developed allows connectivity to be addressed in conservation planning. It can be replicated in regions with similar isolated habitats that connect through intermittent hydrological systems and can also be applied to lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity.

     

Aquatic areas of ecological importance as inputs into surface water resource protection areas in Zambia

1. Although the network of national parks in Zambia offers a degree of protection for freshwater diversity, the protection status of numerous systems outside of these parks requires further action. The biodiversity associated with its freshwater systems, both lotic and lentic, is unique, covering a climatic gradient from tropical to subtropical across the Zambezi and Congo basins. Recent Zambian legislation allows for the delineation of water resource protection areas (WRPAs), with one of the criteria being that they include aquatic areas of ecological importance (AEIs).
2. In this study, a systematic conservation planning approach was used to identify aquatic AEIs objectively. Importantly, the approach included a rigorous and iterative stakeholder engagement and review process.
3. The conservation planning software marxan was chosen because of its ability to integrate upstream–downstream connectivity. In total, 5,671 planning units (sub-catchments with an average area of approx. 14,000 ha) were populated with 77 biodiversity features: data were drawn from a wide range of sources, and included fishes, semi-aquatic mammals, molluscs, amphibians, and ecotonal physiographic features, such as waterfalls. Sub-catchments were preferentially chosen using a combination of area- and distance-weighted boundary costs.
4. The final solution highlights critical clusters in each of the major freshwater ecoregions in Zambia, with all conservation targets being met. Results show that although the existing protected area network also coincides with identified aquatic AEIs, approximately 80% of all aquatic AEIs fall outside of formally protected areas.
5. The outcomes of this process serve as one of three prioritization layers (the other two being water provision and sensitivity to human impacts) that are integrated in a larger study to select and prioritize WRPAs.

     

Catchment zoning to enhance co‐benefits and minimize trade‐offs between ecosystem services and freshwater biodiversity conservation

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Developing a marine protected area network with multiple objectives in China

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Freshwater conservation planning informed and validated by public participation: The Ebro catchment,Spain, as a case study

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