Marine Corridor Planning

Marine Corridor Planning

The underlying principles for terrestrial and marine biodiversity conservation and corridor planning are often similar. However, it is imperative to take into account a number of crucial differences in ecosystem processes in order to best inform these principles. Successful management and conservation of marine species and areas will require a comprehensive knowledge of terrestrial and marine approaches.

The areas of focus and study are similar for both systems: - Biological/Ecological- Sociological- Governance- Political and Legal- Economic- Business models

Marine Considerations

The main differences between marine and terrestrial conservation strategies concern the relative importance of ecological processes.

Connectivity Pelagic distribution of larvae require potentially different models

Threat Differences Overexploitation

A major threat for majority of marine species, reflecting in entire ecosystems

Fishing pressure: predominate threat but we have very little knowledge regarding impact of fisheries / capacity to deal with threat

Fragmentation Needs to be addressed in separate context, not comparable to

terrestrial threat level Pelagics generally unaffected by fragmentation—still have long

distance dispersal Mostly affects mobile benthic species at finer site scale

Marine Considerations (cont.)

Scale Species distribution scale for defining endemism is much greater for

marine than terrestrial systems (exception being limited range species endemism for island and seamount areas)

Ecological biomes and boundaries Hard to define spatial units due to mobility and fluidity Larvae don’t necessarily rely on benthic habitat -- strong

interdependence between systems Dynamic and transitional boundaries

Governance Ownership of ocean: coastal, economic exclusive zone (EEZ), high seas

Migrations Vertical and seasonal Aggregations of populations for spawning very common

Questions to Address

Define marine wilderness areas/hotspots How do we define these? Where are they? What do they look like? Example: are there deep sea wilderness areas/hotspots? No

people but high impact Don’t have marine “Amazons” or “Saharas” defined yet

Data (estimated to have 5% of the amount of terrestrial data) How much is enough for species and habitat? How do we move forward in the absence of an abundance of data?

KBA criteria/thresholds and monitoring habitat change/indicators Current approaches and similarities/differences to marine systems

Identify context analysis gaps

Marine Corridor Planning Process

Guiding marine strategy Focus on species, however, we need to concentrate on processes

in order to build the strategy Can’t concentrate effort on distribution of species alone

Institutional responses should be based on our global expertise Essential to get buy-in and local experience from marine field staff

Need for more data and capacity to adopt/modify terrestrial corridor concepts for marine ecosystems

Connection and consideration of land-sea interfaces

Use this corridor workshop as platform for marine process in near future Build upon similar concepts and identify and articulate differences

Current Initiatives to Address Marine Corridor / Large Scale System Questions

Monitoring specialist Habitat change and indicator analyses

Conservation Synthesis Marine Specialist KBA criteria and thresholds

Oceanographer– Large Scale/Habitat Specialist Integration of biological/ecological and physiographic and

oceanographic concepts

MPA Science Center Study and application of MPA science to network/corridor

conservation planning

Current Initiatives to Address Marine Corridor / Large Scale System Questions (cont.)

Learning from ongoing field projects and programs

Collaboration with other CI departments Example: CABS Human Dimensions dept-- socioeconomic

issues relating to links between terrestrial and marine

Marine Web Portal Capitalize on little information and limited capacity to create

momentum Quickly share lessons learned, coordinate information,

reduce overlap, and internally enable our marine experts all over the world to communicate on this topic