Coastal marine ecosystems benefit from diverse management

September 20, 2023

(photo credit: © WCS | Tom Vierus. Western Province, Solomon Islands)

●Protected areas are a known cornerstone of biodiversity conservation – nearly 200 countries recently committed to expand protections to cover 30% of the planet’s lands and seas by 2030.

● Across six coral reef countries in the Pacific, Coral Triangle and Western Indian Ocean, WCS and partners have new data that shows management beyond protected areas can improve conservation outcomes.

● This new study provides some of the first evidence for coastal marine ecosystems that other types of managed areas can help meet the global 30x30 target adopted by governments.

The new study comes from a Wildlife Conservation Society-led Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) working group, and is out now in the journal Conservation Biology. Researchers worked with 126 communities from six coral reef countries, and measured when conservation outcomes were achieved (e.g., more fish living on coral reefs) and how they were related to different types of managed areas. Both formally protected areas and areas managed by communities outside formal government protection showed benefits for biodiversity. Compared to areas with no management at all, managed areas were the clear winner.
 
“Our study provides important evidence as to what contributes to positive conservation outcomes for coral reefs,” says Natalie Ban from the University of Victoria, lead author of the study. “It also suggests where we need to improve so that all areas are delivering benefits for conservation.”
 
“We know that management is useful for and important to achieving biodiversity outcomes for coastal communities and our oceans,” says Stacy Jupiter, Melanesia Regional Director with the Wildlife Conservation Society and one of the study’s co-authors. “But, this study also shows how important it is for us to measure the actual impact of management, rather than just counting areas as successful because they have been designated as a protected area.”
 
“A logical next step from our finding that diverse types of managed areas can contribute to safeguarding biodiversity – but what are the conditions under which these different kinds of management work best?”says Georgina Gurney of James Cook University, a co-author on the study. “Management that is fit to context, including meeting the aspirations of local people, is what is needed for effective and equitable conservation.”
 
SNAPP (Science for Nature and People Partnership)

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)