Twelve recommendations for advancing marine conservation in European and contiguous seas

Autor(en)
Stelios Katsanevakis, Marta Coll, Simonetta Fraschetti, Sylvaine Giakoumi, David Goldsborough, Vesna Mačic, Peter Charles Mackelworth, Gil Rilov, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Paolo Giulio Albano, Amanda E Bates, Stanislao Bevilacqua, Elena Gissi, Virgilio Hermoso, Antonios D. Mazaris, Cristina Pita, Valentina Rossi, Yael Teff-Seker, Katherine Lucy Yates
Abstrakt

Like most ocean regions today, the European and contiguous seas experience cumulative impacts from local human activities and global pressures. They are largely in poor environmental condition with deteriorating trends. Despite several success stories, European policies for marine conservation fall short of being effective. Acknowledging the challenges for marine conservation, a 4-year multi-national network, MarCons, supported collaborative marine conservation efforts to bridge the gap between science, management and policy, aiming to contribute in reversing present negative trends. By consolidating a large network of more than 100 scientists from 26 countries, and conducting a series of workshops over 4 years (2016-2020), MarCons analyzed challenges, opportunities and obstacles for advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas. Here, we synthesize the major issues that emerged from this analysis and make 12 key recommendations for policy makers, marine managers, and researchers. To increase the effectiveness of marine conservation planning, we recommend (1) designing coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the framework of marine spatial planning (MSP) and applying systematic conservation planning principles, including re-evaluation of existing management zones, (2) designing MPA networks within a broader transboundary planning framework, and (3) implementing integrated land-freshwater-sea approaches. To address inadequate or poorly informed management, we recommend (4) developing and implementing adaptive management plans in all sites of the Natura 2000 European conservation network and revising the Natura 2000 framework, (5) embedding and implementing cumulative effects assessments into a risk management process and making them operational, and (6) promoting actions to reach 'good environmental status' in all European waters. To account for global change in conservation planning and management, we further recommend (7) developing conservation strategies to address the impacts of global change, for example identifying climate-change refugia as high priority conservation areas, and (8) incorporating biological invasions in conservation plans and prioritizing management actions to control invasive species. Finally, to improve current practices that may compromise the effectiveness of conservation actions, we recommend (9) reinforcing the collection of high-quality open-access data, (10) improving mechanisms for public participation in MPA planning and management, (11) prioritizing conservation goals in full collaboration with stakeholders, and (12) addressing gender inequality in marine sciences and conservation.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Paläontologie
Externe Organisation(en)
Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Università Iuav di Venezia, University of Aveiro, Institute for Research on Innovation and Services for Development, National Research Council, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, University of Salford, University of the Aegean, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Queensland University of Technology, Université Côte d'Azur, University of Montenegro, University of Haifa, National Institute of Oceanography Israel, Thünen-Institut, Thünen-Institute of Sea Fisheries, Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Journal
Frontiers in Marine Science
Band
7
Anzahl der Seiten
18
ISSN
2296-7745
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.565968
Publikationsdatum
10-2020
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
105118 Paläontologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Water Science and Technology, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Ocean Engineering, Aquatic Science, Oceanography, Global and Planetary Change
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 14 – Leben unter Wasser
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/twelve-recommendations-for-advancing-marine-conservation-in-european-and-contiguous-seas(d0fef5c9-ff9b-4386-bd58-0b1c190740f9).html