8. Protecting the marine environment Flashcards
Structure of the lecture
- Understanding why the marine environment needss protection
- Ecology of MPAs
- Social and economic benefits of MPAs
- The future of MPAs
Why do we need to conserve marine environments?
1.1
- Oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface, and represent over 99% of living space
- The oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species so far, and are likely to harbour many more
- The ocean absorbs more than 30% of the CO2 produced by humans
- More than 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods
- Marine species make up around $3 trillion of the global economy each year
Therefore, we can see that oceans are an immensely important source of biodiversity, food, GDP and climate regulation, on which humans but an immense amount of pressure
- As much as 40% of the ocean is heavily impacted by pollution, depleted fisheries, loss of coastal habitats etc.,
What are the main threats to oceanic habitats?
1.2
- Mining/oil extraction
- Aquaculture
- Dredging
- Engineering/construction
- Fisheries
- Recreational activities
- Renewable energies
- Shipping
- Waste disposal
- Agricultural runoff
What are the current main policies that aim to protect the ocean?
1.3
Policies including the KM-GBF, the CBD and the UN SDG aim to protect global oceans and instigate global policy with conservation at its heart
Example: COP10 in 2014 in Nagoya developled the Aichi targets. Target 11 states the need to protect 17% of terrestrial and insland waters, and 10% of coastal.marine areas
Example: COP15 in 2021 set 4 major goals, and 23 targets for 2030. Target 3 is the need to protect 30% of terrestrial and inland waters
Example: Goal 14 of the UNSDG states the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea and marine environments.
What is an MPA?
Areas of the ocean in which human activities have been restricted in some way
- A clearly defined, geographical space that is recognised for, and dedicated towards the management of oceans through legal, or other effective means
- They aim to achieve the long-term conservation of nature, alongside associated cultural value and ecosystem services
- We can either reduce the harm done or the number of individuals harmed
How well is our current MPA protection going?
1.5
Only around 8.34% of the ocean is under MPA protection, and most of these areas are not in the most important spots, or being well done.
For the most effect MPA protection, we need:
- To ban mining in all areas
- To only allow light dredging
- To control infrastructure
- To regulate fishing
- To promote aquaculture
We cannot lock up the ocean.
How are MPAs impacting the biomass, richness and abundance of marine ecosystems?
2.1
Lester et al., 2009: MPAs are having an often positive effect on the marine environment, but this is hard to measure and observe, and takes a long time to see benefits
We would expect to see increases in species abundance, richness, resilience, and the age-structured benefits of the population.
However, what is actually seen is a big lad between the establishment of the MPA and the time taken to see a benefit. Sometimes, this can take up to 40 years.
The reintroduction of large, long-lived species takes a long time.
How does the resilience and resistance of ecosystem change with MPAs?
2.2
Improvement in climate invasion, bleaching events and runoff
It is hoped that MPAs will be able to improve resilience to climate change, invasion, bleach, runoffs etc., and allow for species to ‘bounce back’ to stress by resistance.
For example, MPAs are allowing many ecosystems to resist invasion from the invasive lionfish
What are some of the key issues with using MPAs to improve ecological outcomes?
2.3
- Nobody in living memory knows what a pristine marine environment should look like. We have no refference for what we should be returning to - this is called a shifting baseline
- MPAs may not be able to reach the maximum benefit tdue to the nature of the marine species and the evironment itself, such as the dispersal, connectivity, politics, species etc., of the environment
- Pre-emptive over-fishing, known as the ‘blue paradox’
- Jurisdiction, leading to issues being pished into other areas
**However, assessing and implementing the ecological benefits of an MPA is very challenging. They can be threatened by local anf glocal politics, and factors that can influence change include **
What is the NEOLI framework?
2.4
The NEOLI framework aims to make the best possible MPAs. It ensures no-take zones, well-enforced, old zones (>10 years), that are large (>100km2 to protect the feeding/breeding zones of migratory species)
What are some of the negative economic cost cons of MPAs?
3.1
Trade, travel, recreation and the longevity of benefits
There is a disjoint between preventing unsustainable corporate practices, and protecting small fisheries and villagers. The cost of MPAs is incurred up front, and benefits do not start to accrue for 5-10 years, if at all. This means that for many, the restrictions on travel, culture, recreation, trade, food etc., appear pointless
What are some of the economic/social benefits of MPAs
3.2
Immense importance of species richness and biomass for ecosystem resilience, and reaping the benefits of ecosystem serivces. The benefits may include tourism, climate resilience and the promotion of scientific understanding
How can we measure the key economic/social benefits of MPAs?
3.3
Benefits can be traded, directly marketed and quantified. There is a large difference between the ‘option value’ (i.e., One day I might like the choice to do this) and the ‘bequest value (i.e., One day I would like my grandchildren to have this)
MPAs generate a lot of these non-market benefits, such as option and bequest values
What are some of the key economic/social challenges of MPAs?
3.4
Pascoe et al., 2014
- Compliance, and factors surrounding punishment and enforcement
- Data collection and considering sampling benefits and performing accurate science
- Stated/revealed preference of locals and tourists, which has no universal tool, and is subject to self-reporting bias
- Maintenance, alongside administration, enforcement and management
What are some of the complementary actions that we can undertake to improve MPAs?
4.1
Working with MPAs, rather than against them. Trying to improve fishery regulation, and balance all stakeholders
Is there a place for subsidies?
