Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Understanding the relative effectiveness and enabling conditions of different area-based management tools is essential for supporting efforts that achieve positive biodiversity outcomes as area-based conservation coverage increases to meet newly set international targets. We used data from a coastal social-ecological monitoring program in 6 Indo-Pacific countries to analyze whether social, ecological, and economic objectives and specific management rules (temporal closures, fishing gear-specific, species-specific restrictions) were associated with coral reef fish biomass above sustainable yield levels across different types of area-based management tools (i.e., comparing those designated as marine protected areas [MPAs] with other types of area-based management). All categories of objectives, multiple combinations of rules, and all types of area-based management had some sites that were able to sustain high levels of reef fish biomass-a key measure for coral reef functioning-compared with reference sites with no area-based management. Yet, the same management types also had sites with low biomass. As governments advance their commitments to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the target to conserve 30% of the planet's land and oceans by 2030, we found that although different types of management can be effective, most of the managed areas in our study regions did not meet criteria for effectiveness. These findings underscore the importance of strong management and governance of managed areas and the need to measure the ecological impact of area-based management rather than counting areas because of their designation.
Source: Conservation Biology
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14156
Authors: Natalie C. Ban, Emily S. Darling, Georgina G. Gurney, Whitney Friedman, Stacy D. Jupiter, W. Peni Lestari, Irfan Yulianto, Sinta Pardede, Sukma A. R. Tarigan, Puji Prihatiningsih, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Waisea Naisilisili, Sirilo Dulunaqio, Josheena Naggea, Ravaka Ranaivoson, Vera N. Agostini, Gabby Ahmadia, Jessica Blythe, Stuart J. Campbell, Joachim Claudet, Courtney Cox, Graham Epstein, Estradivari, Margaret Fox, David Gill, Amber Himes‐Cornell, Harry Jonas, Elizabeth Mcleod, Nyawira A. Muthiga, Tim McClanahan
Institutions: University of Victoria, Wildlife Conservation Society, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, University of California, Santa Barbara, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji, Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia, Stanford University, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Wildlife Fund, Brock University, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement, University of Central Florida, University of Waterloo, University of Bremen, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Duke University, The Nature Conservancy
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
Funders: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Science for Nature and People Partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W4386878490