Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK.
Glob Chang Biol. 2020 Jun;26(6):3251-3267. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15094. Epub 2020 Apr 19.
Climate change is increasingly impacting marine protected areas (MPAs) and MPA networks, yet adaptation strategies are rarely incorporated into MPA design and management plans according to the primary scientific literature. Here we review the state of knowledge for adapting existing and future MPAs to climate change and synthesize case studies (n = 27) of how marine conservation planning can respond to shifting environmental conditions. First, we derive a generalized conservation planning framework based on five published frameworks that incorporate climate change adaptation to inform MPA design. We then summarize examples from the scientific literature to assess how conservation goals were defined, vulnerability assessments performed and adaptation strategies incorporated into the design and management of existing or new MPAs. Our analysis revealed that 82% of real-world examples of climate change adaptation in MPA planning derive from tropical reefs, highlighting the need for research in other ecosystems and habitat types. We found contrasting recommendations for adaptation strategies at the planning stage, either focusing only on climate refugia, or aiming for representative protection of areas encompassing the full range of expected climate change impacts. Recommendations for MPA management were more unified and focused on adaptative management approaches. Lastly, we evaluate common barriers to adopting climate change adaptation strategies based on reviewing studies which conducted interviews with MPA managers and other conservation practitioners. This highlights a lack of scientific studies evaluating different adaptation strategies and shortcomings in current governance structures as two major barriers, and we discuss how these could be overcome. Our review provides a comprehensive synthesis of planning frameworks, case studies, adaptation strategies and management actions which can inform a more coordinated global effort to adapt existing and future MPA networks to continued climate change.
气候变化正日益影响海洋保护区 (MPA) 和 MPA 网络，但根据主要科学文献，适应策略很少被纳入 MPA 设计和管理计划。在这里，我们回顾了适应气候变化的现有和未来 MPA 的知识现状，并综合了海洋保护规划如何应对环境变化的案例研究 (n=27)。首先，我们基于包含气候变化适应的五个已发表框架，推导出一个通用的保护规划框架，以指导 MPA 设计。然后，我们总结了科学文献中的实例，以评估保护目标是如何定义的，脆弱性评估是如何进行的，以及适应策略是如何被纳入现有或新 MPA 的设计和管理中的。我们的分析表明，海洋保护区规划中适应气候变化的实际案例有 82%来自热带珊瑚礁，这突显了在其他生态系统和生境类型中开展研究的必要性。我们发现，在规划阶段，适应策略的建议存在差异，要么只关注气候避难所，要么旨在对涵盖预期气候变化影响的全部范围的区域进行有代表性的保护。对 MPA 管理的建议则更加统一，侧重于适应性管理方法。最后，我们根据对 MPA 管理者和其他保护从业者进行访谈的研究，评估了采用气候变化适应策略的常见障碍。这突显了缺乏评估不同适应策略的科学研究以及当前治理结构的缺陷是两个主要障碍，我们讨论了如何克服这些障碍。我们的综述提供了规划框架、案例研究、适应策略和管理行动的综合综合，这可以为协调一致的全球努力提供信息，以适应不断变化的气候变化下的现有和未来的 MPA 网络。
