Marine Prosperity Areas: a framework for aligning ecological restoration and human well-being using area-based protections

Marine Prosperity Areas: a framework for aligning ecological restoration and human well-being using area-based protections

Mechanisms for marine ecological protection and recovery, including area-based conservation tools like ‘Marine Protected Areas’ (MPAs) are necessary tools to reach the Aichi Target or the forthcoming 30x30 target set by the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. However, full ecosystem recovery ta...

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Main Authors: Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Valentina Platzgummer, Erica M. Ferrer, Catalina López-Sagástegui, Rocío de Guadalupe Abud Mirabent, América Ávalos Galindo, Fabio Favoretto, Alfredo Giron-Nava, Isabel Mendoza Camacho, Claudia Núñez Sañudo, Marisol Plascencia de La Cruz, Alejandro Robles
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
marine conservation
blue economy
recovery times
narrative and storytelling
community engagement
Gulf of California
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1491483/full
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Summary:Mechanisms for marine ecological protection and recovery, including area-based conservation tools like ‘Marine Protected Areas’ (MPAs) are necessary tools to reach the Aichi Target or the forthcoming 30x30 target set by the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. However, full ecosystem recovery takes years to manifest and the idea that MPA protection alone will foster human well-being is frequently contradicted by socio-economic evidence. Therefore, a new framework for marine area-based conservation and ecosystem restoration that reconciles the discrepancies between ecological recovery and socio-economic growth timelines is needed to effectively meet global biodiversity conservation targets. We introduce the concept of ‘Marine Prosperity Areas,’ (MPpA) an area-based conservation tool that prioritizes human prosperity as opposed to passively relying on ecosystem recovery to catalyze social change and economic growth. This concept leverages a suite of tried-and-true community-based intervention and investment strategies to strengthen and expand access to environmental science, social goods and services, and the financial perks of the blue economy. This data-driven framework may be of interest to stakeholders who support traditional area-based conservation models, but also to those who have been historically opposed to MPAs or have been excluded from past conservation processes.
ISSN:2296-7745

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