A brand-new research study recommends a more effective ocean security method, utilizing a cross-sectoral method to marine security locations (MPAs). This technique lowers the spatial and financial influence on fishing, shipping, and mining sectors, accomplishing preservation targets better and lining up with the United Nations High Seas Treaty’s goals. Credit: The University of Queensland
New research study shows that securing the world’s oceans from intensifying damage due to human activities may be more cost-efficient and need less area than formerly thought.
The University of Queensland’s Professor Anthony Richardson teamed up on the research study, which aims to stop the fast decrease of marine biodiversity from broadening commercial activities in marine locations beyond nationwide jurisdictions (ABNJ).
“This ‘blue acceleration’ as we call it, has seen a greater diversity of stakeholders interested in ABNJs, such as the high seas and the international seabed beyond exclusive economic zones,” Professor Richardson stated. “This has actually resulted in a problem where present marine security approaches take a look at each sector independently– such as fishing, shipping, and deep-sea mining markets– all of which have their own suite of influence on < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>species</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex ="0" function ="link" > types, neighborhoods, and environments.”
Cross- sectoralApproach inMarine Protection
In action, scientists evaluated the style of various networks of marine security locations( MPA) throughout theIndianOcean that target abundant biodiversity locations with very little influence on lucrative human activity.
“Essentially, we assessed the potential trade-offs associated with including multiple stakeholders in a cross-sectoral, as opposed to sector-specific, protected area network, for ABNJs in the Indian Ocean,” (****************************************************************************************** )Richardson stated.“First, we created three sector-specific plans – involving fishing, shipping, and mining separately – to identify optimal locations for strict, no-take, MPAs. We then created a cross-sectoral no-take plan that minimizes the opportunity cost to all stakeholders simultaneously, looking at the overall picture with each stakeholder in mind. After generating these plans, we compared the three sector-specific solutions, as well as their sum, to the cross-sectoral solution.”
Lead scientist from theRoyalBelgianInstitute ofNatural Sciences, LéaFourchault, stated the cross-sectoral method fulfilled the very same preservation targets at much lower extra expenses for each stakeholder than if all sector-specific strategies are executed without coordination.
Reduction in MPA Size with Same Conservation Goals
“For example, the fishing sector might lose 20 percent of its potential revenue under the cross-sectoral plan, but it would lose 54 percent if all sector-specific plans were implemented simultaneously without coordination,” Ms Fourchault stated. “This was consistent for the shipping and mining sectors, with the shipping sector now losing two percent, instead of 26 percent of its potential revenue, and the mining sector now losing one percent instead of close to eight percent. Our results also show that we can reduce the size of MPAs from 25 percent of the spatial plan to eight percent while meeting the same conservation objectives. This would still achieve 30 percent coverage for important biodiversity features, including key life-cycle areas for marine megafauna, areas of biological and ecological interest, and areas important to deep-sea ecosystems, such as seamounts, vents, and plateaus.”
Researchers think the cross-sectoral method can be a primary step to executing the preservation goals of the just recently signed United Nations High Seas Treaty
“The code from our research is available online and can be used by scientists, conservationists, and politicians alike – and can be applied to any ocean on Earth,” Ms Fourchault stated.
“Ultimately, the goal is not only to minimize conflicts between conservationists and multiple industries but also to ensure marine life is protected against negative cumulative impacts from all three industries simultaneously.”
Reference: “Generating affordable protection of high seas biodiversity through cross-sectoral spatial planning” by Léa Fourchault, Farid Dahdouh-Guebas, Daniel C. Dunn, Jason D. Everett, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Kristine C.V. Buenafe, Sandra Neubert, Alvise Dabal à, Kanthi K.A.S. Yapa, Stefano Cannicci and Anthony J. Richardson, 10 January 2024, One Earth
DOI: 10.1016/ j.oneear.202312006
