DOI: 10.56367/oag-052-12632 ISSN: 2516-3817
From protected area coverage to conservation outcomes
Barbara Horta e Costa, Cecilie Wathne, Ulf Bergström, Mikael van Deurs, Inês Sousa, Even MolandFrom protected area coverage to conservation outcomes
A new Scandinavian assessment shows where current marine area-based protection is too weak and how site-level evidence can guide stronger marine protection. Achieving biodiversity commitments for our seas, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, is to a large extent dependent on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). Yet under current regulations, many existing MPAs and candidate OECMs are unlikely to deliver the biodiversity and ecosystem gains needed to meet these commitments.