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Emerging themes to support ambitious UK marine biodiversity conservation

Rees, Si�n E.; Sheehan, Emma V.; Stewart, Bryce D.; Clark, Robert; Appleby, Thomas; Attrill, Martin J.; Jones, Peter J.S.; Johnson, David; Bradshaw, Natasha; Pittman, Simon; Oates, Jenny; Solandt, Jean-Luc

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Authors

Si�n E. Rees

Emma V. Sheehan

Bryce D. Stewart

Robert Clark

Martin J. Attrill

Peter J.S. Jones

David Johnson

Natasha Bradshaw

Simon Pittman

Jenny Oates

Jean-Luc Solandt



Abstract

Healthy marine ecosystems provide a wide range of resources and services that support life on Earth and contribute to human wellbeing. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are accepted as an important tool for the restoration and maintenance of marine ecosystem structure, function, health and ecosystem integrity through the conservation of significant species, habitats, or entire ecosystems. In recent years there has been a rapid expansion in the area of ocean designated as an MPA. Despite this progress in spatial protection targets and the progressive knowledge of the essential interdependence between the human and the ocean system, marine biodiversity continues to decline, placing in jeopardy the range of ecosystem services benefits humans rely on. There is a need to address this shortcoming. Ambitious marine conservation:

• Requires a shift from managing individual marine features within MPAs to whole-sites to enable repair and renewal of marine systems;

• Reflects an ambition for sustainable livelihoods by fully integrating fisheries management with conservation (Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management) as the two are critically interdependent;

• Establishes a world class and cost effective ecological and socio-economic monitoring and evaluation framework that includes the use of controls and sentinel sites to improve sustainability in marine management; and

• Challenges policy makers and practitioners to be progressive by integrating MPAs into the wider seascape as critical functional components rather than a competing interest and move beyond MPAs as the only tool to underpin the benefits derived from marine ecosystems by identifying other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to establish synergies with wider governance frameworks.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 4, 2020
Online Publication Date Feb 10, 2020
Publication Date Jul 1, 2020
Deposit Date Feb 12, 2020
Publicly Available Date Aug 12, 2020
Journal Marine Policy
Print ISSN 0308-597X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 117
Article Number 103864
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103864
Keywords Economics and Econometrics; Aquatic Science; Law; Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law; General Environmental Science
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5377790

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