Aligning climate-smart marine spatial planning and ecoscape restoration for global biodiversity recovery

Meeting the ambitious targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) will require expanding ecosystem restoration across governance domains for marine and coastal ecosystems. Marine spatial planning (MSP), which balances the development of multiple human uses in the ocean with the preservation of ecosystem health, might be the most effective vehicle for achieving this aim. However, to date, MSP and restoration efforts have proceeded on separate tracks, and biodiversity loss continues.

PICRC publishes study on longnose emperor spawning aggregation

Since 2023, the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) has been collaborating with the Koror State Government (KSG) to conduct research and monitoring aimed at providing essential baseline data to guide the Koror Southern Lagoon Coastal Fisheries Management Plan, a new fisheries management initiative for Koror State. The management plan identified several fish spawning aggregation sites for protection, including the longnose emperor (melangmud, Lethrinus olivaceus) at Mutiaur.

Including Local EcologicalKnowledge (LEK) inMangrove Conservation& Restoration

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline and brackish tidal waters across tropical and subtropical regions of the world.1Mangroves support rich biodiversity spanning both marine and terrestrial environments. Their roots anchor to the sediment, providing shelter for an array of marine fauna including fish, invertebrates, and mammals. Their canopy provides habitat, food, and shelter for many terrestrial organisms, including mammals such as tigers and monkeys, birds, reptiles, and insects.

Unlocking the potential of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for achieving conservation targets: A global scoping review

Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), introduced by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), refer to areas outside formal protected-area networks that deliver effective and enduring in situ biodiversity conservation. This scoping review systematically examined global approaches to identifying and evaluating potential OECMs. Analysing 99 studies covering 694 case studies and 237 000 potential sites, we found that potential OECMs are widespread, particularly in Asia and terrestrial environments, with most initiatives led by the environmental sector.

Businesses and Biodiversity: New opportunities with Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs)

The loss of biodiversity is accelerating globally, and there is growing recognition that both halting and reversing this loss requires action from all of society, in addition to governments, civil society organisations, Indigenous peoples, local communities and the private sector.

Devastation of island biodiversity: a land snail perspective

Many islands are remote and the level of interest in land snails as a component of the global biodiversity conservation agenda is low. The conservation status of many island land snail faunas thus remains at best out of date. However, land snails have an asset that other groups do not—their shells, which can remain post mortem in the shell bank of the soil for many tens or several hundreds of years after the death of the animal.

The new World Ocean Review: Explaining life in the ocean

Life on Earth is linked inseparably with the ocean. It covers around 71 per cent of the surface and is the largest habitat on our planet. Much of its species diversity is still unknown – and yet it is vital for human well-being. The greater the health and diversity of marine life, the greater the benefits for people and nature. But which species live in the ocean, and which environmental factors influence their distribution or habitat size? What are the reasons for the decline in marine species abundance – and how can it be preserved successfully?