Thematic Area

Carondelet is a remote seamount in the Phoenix Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. Earlier expeditions of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) were not able to survey the seamount due to challenging ocean conditions. In 2015, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Kiribati Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resource Development conducted surveys around the shallow habitats (<30 m) of the seamount to characterize coral reef fish and benthic communities.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are focused on identifying innovative ways to effectively protect and restore critical ecosystems, such as coral reefs, in Asia and the Pacific. The need for funding and capacity to protect and restore coral reefs is too great to fill from any one source. The solution will require creative thinking and need to be multifaceted and diverse. The urgency of the crisis is too great to not invest now in identifying and developing innovative financial tools.

This introductory brief's target audience is professionals from governments, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders who know multilateral processes and treaties but are not “BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) experts”. It is an easier read than the treaty itself.

The Pacific Islands Regional Marine Species Programme (Marine Species Programme, or PIRMSP) is a regional strategy for the cooperative conservation and management of dugongs, marine turtles, whales and dolphins, sharks and rays, and seabirds. The programme is designed to support SPREP Pacific island countries and territories, excluding metropolitan countries, through a series of action plans. 

The Best Practice Guidelines for Mangrove Restoration is a joint product developed by the Global Mangrove Alliance and the Blue Carbon Initiative, led by the University of Queensland, Conservation International, Wetlands International, Blue Marine Foundation and the International Blue Carbon Institute, along with dozens of mangrove scientists and user groups across the world. 

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Anthropogenic activities threaten global biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, area-based conservation efforts typically target biodiversity protection whilst minimising conflict with economic activities, failing to consider ecosystem services. Here we identify priority areas that maximise both the protection of mangrove biodiversity and their ecosystem services.

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has the potential to balance demands for ocean space with environmental protection and is increasingly considered crucial for achieving global ocean goals. In theory, MSP should adhere to six principles, being: (1) ecosystem-based, (2) integrated, (3) place-based, (4) adaptive, (5) strategic, and (6) participatory. Despite nearly two decades of practice, MSP continues to face critical challenges to fully realize these principles, hindering its ability to deliver positive outcomes for people and nature.

This manual is not a summary of all that is known about sea turtles. There are already very good books and resources that do that. It is also not exhaustive about research and monitoring. Nor it is the global synthesis of all turtle research options. Advanced research into breathing rates and blood plasma and stable isotopes and hearing and endocrinology are a bit out of our scope. Here, we will deal with the basics that inform conservation and management.

Marine protected areas are increasingly touted for their role in conserving large marine predators such as sharks, but their efficacy is debated. Seventeen “shark sanctuaries” have been established globally, but longline fishing continues within many such jurisdictions, leading to unknown levels of bycatch mortality levels. Using public data from Global Fishing Watch and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, we quantified longline fishing within eight shark sanctuaries and estimated pelagic shark catch and mortality for seven pelagic shark species.