Designing effective marine protected areas in biodiversity and fisheries conservation hotspots

Overfishing is commonplace, threatening the sustainability of coastal marine ecosystems and associated services worldwide. About 200 governments have therefore committed to protecting 10-20% of national coastal marine waters... [ view full abstract ]

Overfishing is commonplace, threatening the sustainability of coastal marine ecosystems and associated services worldwide. About 200 governments have therefore committed to protecting 10-20% of national coastal marine waters by 2020. However, the planning and enforcement of marine protected areas (MPAs) remains challenging, given that millions of people in the most heavily impacted regions depend on fishing for food and income. In my presentation, I will introduce a set of guidelines and software programs developed to support decisions on total MPA coverage, placement and local size in known biodiversity and fisheries conservation hotspots. The research behind these MPA design “tools” shows that informed decision making can help reconcile potentially conflicting biodiversity conservation and fisheries objectives of MPAs. Freely available policy briefs and software programs make this research accessible for application by conservation planners, fisheries managers, industry stakeholders and communities. Drawing on multiple case studies in Indonesia, I will specify the likely magnitude of associated benefits in MPA effectiveness.