Now that there are global criteria to identify

candidate MPAs in the high seas…

How will we collect and link together the

scientific and technical advice?

Jeff Ardron

Director High Seas Program

Marine Conservation Biology Institute

BackgroundWhat Criteria..?What Criteria..?

In this Presentation...In this Presentation...

CBDCBDFAOFAO[ISA][ISA]

Actually, there are lots more criteria...

• International Maritime Organization (IMO) 1991, 2001, 2005 Guidelines for the designation of Special Areas and the identification of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas, Resolutions A.720 (17); A.927 (22); A.982 (24)

• Kelleher & Kenchington 1991. Guidelines for Establishing MPAs, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

• Germany 1998. Overview of Existing Criteria and Guidelines for the Selection of Marine • Germany 1998. Overview of Existing Criteria and Guidelines for the Selection of Marine Protected Areas. OSPAR Workshop on MPAs, 31 Aug. - 4 Sept., Isle of Vilm. (6

established criteria systems reviewed)

• CBD 2004. Technical advice on the establishment and management of a national a national system of marine and coastal protected areas. CBD Technical Series no. 13. 40

pages. (26 authors)

• Deardon & Topelko 2005. Establishing criteria for the identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas on the high seas. (Background paper for Ottawa

Workshop.) (20 suggested and established criteria systems reviewed)

CBD COP9 Decision 20 Annex I: Site Criteria

“Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas” (EBSAs)

1. Uniqueness / rarity

2. Special importance for life history of species

3. Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species / habitatsdeclining species / habitats

4. Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery

5. Biological productivity

6. Biological diversity

7. Naturalness

These will sometimes spatially overlap, but many times will not…

FAO: VME & Sig. Adverse Impact Criteria ...compared to the CBD EBSA criteria

1. Uniqueness / rarity

2. Special importance for life history of species (“Functional Significance”)

3. Importance for threatened, endangered or declining species / habitatsspecies / habitats

4. Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery

5. Biological productivity

6. Biological diversity

7. Naturalness

• Slow growth, age of maturity, low recruitment, long-lived

• Structural complexity

Vulnerability

Subset of CBD…but without

fishing pressure

CBD COP9 Decision 20 Annex II: Network Criteria

1. EBSAs (site criteria)

2. Representativity

3. Connectivity3. Connectivity

4. Replication

5. Adequacy / viability

CBD COP9 Decision 20 Annex III: Four initial steps

1. Scientific identification of an initial set of EBSAs

(ecologically & biologically significant areas);

2. Develop/choose a biogeographic, habitat, and/or

community classification system;community classification system;

3. Drawing upon steps 1 and 2 above, iteratively use

qualitative and/or quantitative techniques to

identify sites to include in a network;

4. Assess the adequacy and viability of the selected

sites.

Step 1...

Identify AreasIdentify Areas

Census of Marine Life

OBIS: 16.4 million records of 104 000 species from 492 databases

TOPP: Tagging Of Pacific Predators

Shillinger et al. 2008. Persistent leatherback turtle migrations

present opportunities for conservation. PLoS

Biol 6:7

Climatological Daily Animation

• Loggerhead turtle tracks remapped to a single calendar year

• Sea Surface Temperature, contour at 18.5°C for reference

(Jeffery Polovina, USNC IOOS Workshop)

Argos: 50 ground stations, 20 000 platforms

Oceanographic variables: acidification(2040)

Guinotte & Fabry. 2008. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1134: 320–342

Step 2...

BiogeographicBiogeographic ClassificationClassification

Global Open Oceans and Deep Seabed (GOODS)

biogeographic classification

UNESCO. 2008. Global Open Oceans and Deep Seabed (GOODS) –Biogeographic Classification. Paris, UNESCO-IOC. (Tech. Series, 84.)

Regional Scale Biogeographic Classification

Dinter (2001)

OSPAR

Ongoing classification work for the International Seabed Authority:Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone

• Virginie Tilot: UNESCO-IOC Tech Series 69, vol 1 &2;

and a new report in review (meeting in Paris after this

meeting)meeting)

• Craig Smith et al (2008): 20 Expert participants in the

workshop to Design Marine Protected Areas for

Seamounts and the Abyssal Nodule Province in Pacific

High Seas, Oct 23-26, 2007, U. of Hawaii at Manoa

Summary of Summary of Smith et al Smith et al Recommendations Recommendations ––

-- Nine 400 x 400 km PRAs within the CCZ. One Nine 400 x 400 km PRAs within the CCZ. One Preservation Reference Area Preservation Reference Area (PRA) in each of the 9 (PRA) in each of the 9 subregionssubregions defined by productivity gradients and faunal defined by productivity gradients and faunal turnover. PRAs situated to avoid or minimize overlap with existing mining turnover. PRAs situated to avoid or minimize overlap with existing mining exploration and reserved claim areas and to protect as many seamounts as exploration and reserved claim areas and to protect as many seamounts as possible within a possible within a subregionsubregion. .

One option for location One option for location

(Slide courtesy Craig Smith)

One option for location One option for location of PRAs within of PRAs within subregions (locations subregions (locations are flexible, i.e., are flexible, i.e., negotiable)negotiable)

Step 3...

Synthesize informationSynthesize information“Meta“Meta--Analyses”Analyses”“Meta“Meta--Analyses”Analyses”

Three Key Issues(amongst many)

1. Combining information: How to make sense out of dozens of data layers…?

2. Combining objectives: How to meet multiple objectives 2. Combining objectives: How to meet multiple objectives efficiently?

3. Managing for the unknown: How to manage for uncertainty and lack of data?

Solving Large Scale Numerical Problems Using Artificial Bee

1. Many of the best ways to figure out

patterns in life derive from

mimicking life…

Problems Using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm, D. Karaboga, B. Akay. (2008).

KohonAnts: A Self-Organizing Ant Algorithm for Clustering and Pattern Classification, Mora, A., Fernandes, C., Merelo, J., Ramos, V., Laredo, J. and Rosa, A. (2008).

2. Multi-Objective Problems: Some Site Selection Tools worth serious consideration

• Marxan (Ball & Possingham, U Queensland)

• C-Plan (Bob Pressey, U. Queensland / James Cook U.,

Aus.)

• Zonation (Atte Moilanen et al, U. of Helsinki)

• ConsNet (Ciarleglio et al, U of Texas)

3. Managing Uncertainty is not new:

a good Investment strategy ...spreads the risk and increases the likelihood of success, though not immune to

global meltdowns (e.g. ocean acidification) will buffer the effects

1. Protecting examples of representative habitats

2. Ensuring that duplicate examples of all major habitat types areprotected

3. Applying varying degrees of protection, from fully protected reserves

--The Ecosystem Approach: Demystifying the Concept and its Application in the Marine Environment, Report by IUCN for the 7th Meeting of the UN open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, 2006.

3. Applying varying degrees of protection, from fully protected reservesthrough to limited openings for high-risk activities

4. Using adaptive management

5. Recognizing intangible values

6. Maintaining capital (nat. resources)

7. Implementing robust networks of MPAs also as insurance

Coordination, analysis, and review leading up to…

Advisory Board

Coordination(“Secretariat”)

Science BoardCBD

SBSTTA CBD Workshop(Canada, fall 2009)

CBD COP10 (late 2010)

CBD COP11 (2012)

Proposed Coordination & Review process (Germany, Canada, IUCN)2011: more

meetings

Science Board SBSTTA (early 2010)

Data,

Research,

EBSA

Analyses &

Meta-analysis

(Canada, fall 2009)

FAO /

RFMOs

Analytical Team (MCBI, UNEP-WCMC and other researchers)

Data

Analysis Analysis (a)

Analysis Analysis (b)

Analysis Analysis (c)

Meta-Analysis(combined analyses)

VMEs

other linkages

Acknowledgements: thanks to the many researchers who have been sharing their work

–too many to include in this presentation.And also...

Rice & Ardron: CBD MPA Criteria

And also...thanks to the MCBI High

Seas Team...

Elliott Norse, PhDPresident

Lance Morgan, PhD Larissa Sano, PhDHigh Seas Gems project

Sandra Brooke, PhDDeep sea corals

VP Science

John Guinotte, PhDAcidification, GIS

High Seas Gems project

Fan Tsao, MAGeneral support

And finally: thank you!

Jeff.Ardron@MCBI.org

Rice & Ardron: CBD MPA Criteria