Securing effective and equitable coverage of marine protected areas: The UK's progress towards achieving Convention on Biological Diversity commitments and lessons learned for the way forward

Current international agreements call for protecting 10% of marine and coastal waters by 2020, with the intention of increasing that target to 30% by 2030. With 24% of its territorial waters protected, the UK falls short of the new expected target. As well as quantitative targets, qualitative criteria have been internationally agreed for protected area designation, including minimum coverage values and characteristics that encompass effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape. The legal framework supporting protected area designations at sea is summarized and explained for UK territorial waters. Efforts to date to achieve current marine protected area (MPA) targets are reviewed, with emphasis on how well the existing protected area portfolio captures the qualitative criteria. Examples are given of other effective conservation measures complementary to formalized MPAs, especially with regard to achieving and promoting qualitative criteria for biodiversity conservation, including appropriate recognition of and support for areas conserved by indigenous people, local communities and private entities. A precis on the governance of MPAs and other effective conservation measures in the UK and its overseas territories is presented. Whilst the UK has made exceptional progress with quantitative MPA coverage, it is still not clear whether designated areas offer effective protection. A UK-level strategy is in place to address this; and at site level, Lyme Bay MPA illustrates the benefits of addressing qualitative criteria. Illustrated by the UK example, an urgent call is made for ongoing and future marine in situ area-based conservation efforts to substantiate quantitative and qualitative considerations, and to ensure that MPA networks are ultimately fit for purpose.

Aichi biodiversity target 11, area-based management tools, other effective conservation measures, UN sustainable development goals

10.1002/aqc.3065

1052-7613

181-194

Johnson, David E.

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Rees, Siân E.

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Diz, Daniela

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Jones, Peter J.S.

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Roberts, Callum

803bb28e-3175-4e4f-92d5-99d36b40eb5d

Barrio Froján, Christopher

4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74

et al.

1 October 2019

Johnson, David E.

ac1c7dcb-a817-47bc-aaaa-4a0e268c27d0

Rees, Siân E.

729b86fd-55d8-42e3-afdd-20886031024c

Diz, Daniela

f2d5ff78-c699-4e9d-ac61-f483fbe4f06f

Jones, Peter J.S.

f8afa603-f19e-4afa-b997-27f6b842bffd

Roberts, Callum

803bb28e-3175-4e4f-92d5-99d36b40eb5d

Barrio Froján, Christopher

4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74

Johnson, David E., Rees, Siân E., Diz, Daniela, Jones, Peter J.S. and Barrio Froján, Christopher , et al. (2019) Securing effective and equitable coverage of marine protected areas: The UK's progress towards achieving Convention on Biological Diversity commitments and lessons learned for the way forward. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 29 (10, S2), 181-194. (doi:10.1002/aqc.3065).

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Accepted/In Press date: 28 December 2018

Published date: 1 October 2019

Additional Information: Funding Information: We are grateful to the Advisory Committee for the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS) for organizing a Dialogue on UK Marine Reserves in the House of Lords on 7 November 2017, where a number of ideas reflected in this paper were discussed. We acknowledge information shared at a side event on 5 September 2017 at IMPAC4 ‘Managing Marine Protected Areas Showcasing UK Expertise’ by the British Embassy in Santiago, Chile. Thanks are also due to Alison Elliott (Defra, UK) for updated statistics and to Emma Sheehan (University of Plymouth) for specific input on Lyme Bay MPA. Further inspiration was gained from the CBD Expert Workshop on MPAs and Other Effective Area‐based Conservation Measures for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in marine and coastal areas (6–9 February 2018, Montreal, Canada) and the IUCN WCPA ‘Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force Marine Conservation Consultation’ meeting (16–17 October 2018, Paris, France). The manuscript was significantly improved thanks to input from Johnny Briggs of The Pew Trusts, and from the comments and observations provided by anonymous referees. DEJ and CBF acknowledge support by the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), which is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. DEJ also acknowledges this work as a contribution to the ATLAS project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 678760. It reflects the author's views, and the European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. SER acknowledges support from the Blue Marine Foundation. Funding Information: We are grateful to the Advisory Committee for the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS) for organizing a Dialogue on UK Marine Reserves in the House of Lords on 7 November 2017, where a number of ideas reflected in this paper were discussed. We acknowledge information shared at a side event on 5 September 2017 at IMPAC4 ?Managing Marine Protected Areas Showcasing UK Expertise? by the British Embassy in Santiago, Chile. Thanks are also due to Alison Elliott (Defra, UK) for updated statistics and to Emma Sheehan (University of Plymouth) for specific input on Lyme Bay MPA. Further inspiration was gained from the CBD Expert Workshop on MPAs and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target?11 in marine and coastal areas (6?9 February 2018, Montreal, Canada) and the IUCN WCPA ?Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force Marine Conservation Consultation? meeting (16?17 October 2018, Paris, France). The manuscript was significantly improved thanks to input from Johnny Briggs of The Pew Trusts, and from the comments and observations provided by anonymous referees. DEJ and CBF acknowledge support by the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), which is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. DEJ also acknowledges this work as a contribution to the ATLAS project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 678760. It reflects the author's views, and the European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. SER acknowledges support from the Blue Marine Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: Aichi biodiversity target 11, area-based management tools, other effective conservation measures, UN sustainable development goals