Results and implications of the first global effort to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas
Bax, N. J., Cleary, J., Donnelly, B., Dunn, D. C., Dunstan, P. K., Fuller, M., & Halpin, P. N. (2015). Results and implications of the first global effort to identify ecologically or biologically significant marine areas Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12649.
Key Findings:
- An internationally agreed body of scientific advice is already in place to support UN deliberations on conserving biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction.
- Between 2011 and 2014, experts from 92 countries and 79 regional or international bodies held a series of nine regional workshops to assemble data, delineate potential ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs), and score them against a set of seven criteria. The resulting 203 areas are found in all oceans and large marine ecosystems.
- These areas represent the only global, internationally recognized suite of marine sites considered to be relatively more important from a biodiversity standpoint than their surroundings.
