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Slide 2 Mandy Lombard, NMMU and UCT, South Africa Overview of similarities and differences between terrestrial and marine planning Slide 3 Acknowledgements: Richard Cowling and Andrew Knight (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) Mathieu Rouget (SA National Biodiversity Insitute) Belinda Reyers (CSIR) Jan Vlok (Botanist) Bob Pressey and Hedley Grantham (University of Queensland) Lynnath Beckley (Murdoch) Jean Harris (KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife) Kerry Sink (SANBI) George Branch and Barry Clark (University of Cape Town) Deon Nel (WWF) Slide 4 Similarities 1.The conservation planning process is the same 2. The basic steps are the same Slide 5 Time scale RapidIn perpetuity Stakeholder collaboration Involved Informed Empowered Retention Representation Conservation goal Persistence ManagementPlanningAssessment Conservation activity Conservation Planning Process LEARNING INSTITUTIONS Knight et al. 2006a CONSERVATION PRIORITIES DATA CONSERVATION VALUES STAKEHOLDERS IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY MAINSTREAMING CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES ENABLING IMPLEMENTATION Conservation Planning Process Slide 6 Conservation Planning Steps 7: identify spatial/management interventions to ensure target achievement 1: map biodiversity features (species and habitats)3: define spatially flexible processes 2: map spatially fixed processes Southern Right Whale feeding grounds and nursery areas 6: identify gaps in current protection of patterns & processes (assessment: C-Plan, Marxan, etc.) 4: set targets for all patterns & processes Length coastline %of area Process 5: identify and map the spatial extent of threats to all patterns and processes Slide 7 There are real differences in ecology and scale: dynamic nature of oceanographic processes high natural variability connected water matrix Differences Chl SST extensive movement of organisms in a system with few discrete boundaries Slide 8 The diversity of marine habitats and species is comparatively greater (marine) BUT The knowledge of this diversity, and also of the underlying processes that maintain it, is disproportionately poor (data are harder to collect, way more expensive, so more use of surrogates) Differences Slide 9 There has been concern that marine systems may be too open and variable to support area-based conservation approaches Differences Marine - mostly about management of extraction (targets have been fisheries based - catch limits) Terrestrial - mainly about setting aside areas (targets are area based) Slide 10 Are real and perceived differences in: Ownership Human use Sustainability Regulation Access rights Marine GREAT importance of: local knowledge extensive stakeholder support compliance monitoring Differences Slide 11 Threats to marine environment 1.Extractive marine living resource use 2.Pollution 3.Mining 4.Coastal development 5.Climate change 6.Catchment degradation 7.Non-extractive recreational activities 8.Alien invasive species 9.Mariculture (few extinctions) Threats to terrestrial environment Habitat destruction (fragmentation) Slide 12 Slide 13 SixcurrentMPAProjects: Offshore MPAs National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment BCLME KwaZulu-Natal Prince Edward Islands Agulhas Bioregion Slide 14 Special challenges in the marine environment 1.Where are the bioregions? - 3-D environment - limited patterns maps - limited process maps - limited human use maps Slide 15 Atlantic Offshore Bioregion Indo-Pacific Offshore Bioregion South-west Indian Offshore Bioregion Namaqua Bioregion West Indian Offshore Bioregion Natal Bioregion Delagoa Bioregion South-western Cape Bioregion Agulhas Bioregion OFFSHORE BIOREGIONS (X4) INSHORE BIOREGIONS (X5) Slide 16 2. Where is the biodivesity? Unknown (surrogates) Known Slide 17 3a. What scale should we be mapping at for effective implementation? Slide 18 3b. What scale should we be mapping at for effective implementation? Deep-sea sediments Slide 19 4. How do we map and protect the moving component of biodiversity? Slide 20 5. How do we map ecosystem processes (offshore)? The three-dimensional nature of the marine environment and its temporal variability pose difficult challenges in understanding and managing the pelagic (water column) component of the oceans. Slide 21 Slide 22 Chlorophyll Sea surface temperature KwaZulu-Natal (SeaPlan) Slide 23 Offshore Profiles 1km x 1km Defined by . * Depth * Geology & sediment type * Sediment stability/mobility * Turbidity * Temperature * Chlorophyll Slide 24 Slide 25 Slide 26 Oceanographic Provinces Bakun (Ocean triads) Slide 27 (i) Map human activity in the marine environment Who are they and what are they doing? Where do they go in space and time? How much do they go? What are the costs/values/significance of the activities? 6. How do we incorporate costs and opportunities into MPA planning? Slide 28 Kerri Wilson (ii) Map vulnerability Rouget et al. (2003). Biological Conservation Slide 29 (iii) Incorporate this information into the conservation planning analyses (Marxan) Romola Stewart Slide 30 7. How does one trade long-term biodiversity goals with short-term fisheries goals? 200 nm 200 nm 12 nm Prince Edward Islands To Australia Slide 31 Patagonian toothfish Lombard et al. (2007). Antarctic Science Slide 32 The gap: There is a research-implementation gap between conservation science and real-world action The Gap In Conservation PlanningImplementationResearch Conservation planning: - goal is to design protected areas and other management strategies which represent and ensure the persistence of nature - by separating it from the activities which degrade or destroy it Conclusion: A re-evaluation of the research direction of both the conceptual and operational basis of conservation planning is urgently required However: - conservation assessments are rarely translated into actions which actually conserve nature Knight et al. 2006b Slide 33 The End