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- Over 80% of the European Union’s marine protected area only marginally regulates human activitiesPublication . Gorjanc, Sašo; Sletten, Jennifer; Vincent, Timothé; Laznya, Anastasiya; Vaidianu, Natașa; Claudet, Joachim; Young, Juliette; Horta e Costa, Barbara; Aminian Biquet, JulietteTo address the ongoing deterioration of marine ecosystems and its consequences on livelihood, the European Union (EU) now aims to achieve 30% coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs), with 10% under strict protection per region. Here, we provide the first assessment of protection levels of EU MPAs, describing the level of legal restrictions of activities using the MPA Guide framework. While MPAs covered 11.4% of EU national waters in 2022, 0.2% were fully or highly protected. As much as 86% of MPA coverage showed low levels of protection or would not be considered compatible with conservation objectives, as they allow industrial activities. Most MPA coverage showed minimal protection across member states, sea regions, and legal types of MPAs. The EU MPA network likely provides limited ecological outcomes. Reaching the EU's 10% strict protection target will require radical changes to the regulation of activities in EU MPAs.
- Regulations of activities and protection levels in marine protected areas of the European Union: a dataset compiled from multiple data sourcesPublication . Aminian Biquet, Juliette; Colegrove, Claire; Driedger, Alex; Raudsepp, Nicole; Sletten, Jennifer; Vincent, Timothé; Zetterlind, Virgil; Roessger, Julia; Laznya, Anastasiya; Vaidianu, Natașa; Claudet, Joachim; Young, Juliette; Horta e Costa, BarbaraThe dataset gathers available regulations of human activities and protection levels of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of the European Union (EU). The MPA list and polygons were extracted from the MPA database of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and completed with available zoning systems (all were filtered for their marine area reported under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Fully-overlapping MPAs were merged. In the resulting dataset, MPA features are provided (gathered from EEA, WDPA, ProtectedSeas), including the year of designation, designation types (e.g., national, Natura 2000) and subtypes (e.g., reserves, national parks), database identifiers (WDPA, Natura 2000, OSPAR, etc.), IUCN categories, and main protection focus. We provide summarized data on maritime activities that overlap with MPA polygons from two types of datasets: activities-focused datasets (national marine spatial plans, and additional European and regional databases, like EMODnet) and MPA-focused datasets gathering data from management plans (ProtectedSeas, expert-based assessments about OSPAR and Portuguese MPAs). This dataset therefore compiles data that could be gathered from accessible legal frameworks regarding aquaculture, fisheries, anchoring, infrastructures (including harbors and renewable energy), mining, transport, coastal land-based uses (desalinization, sewage plants) and other non-extractive uses (e.g., recreational), making them readily accessible. Using the MPA Guide classification system, we computed two scenarios of potential impact for each activity, which were used to assess two scenarios of protection levels per MPA. Some MPAs could not be associated with any MPA features, regulations, or protection levels. Finally, we detail the protocol to match information from multiple databases (e.g., with MPA polygons formatted differently) and provide a quality check by comparing this dataset to previous assessments. This dataset was used to analyze MPAs' protection levels across countries, regions and MPA features (e.g., IUCN categories, designations). It was also used to investigate the sources of information available and the levels of regulations for each maritime activity in EU MPAs. This dataset can therefore be used for further analyses on the use of EU MPAS to regulate activities and to compare with future assessments or with additional data we did not have access to (e.g., gathered at national scale). Such research is crucial to plan and monitor the implementation of the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, targeting 10% of strictly protected MPAs in each sea region.
- The perspective of youth: envisioning transformative pathways and desirable futures for people and naturePublication . Schmitt, Thomas M.; Aminian Biquet, Juliette; Blinova, Polina; Jimenez, Yohana G.; Sinav, Lider; Vašková, Hana; Dumont, Ana Sofia Lorda; Kien, Pham Trung; Mathur, Vinamra; Mwale, Brenda; Soriano, Deign Frolley; Anantaprayoon, Nopparat; Arimiyaw, Abdul Wahid; Koech, Sheila; Choque, Kantuta Conde; Kim, Hye Jin; Kuiper, Jan J.; Pereira, Laura M.; Miller, Brian W.This paper examines the pathways to desirable nature futures as envisioned by 22 young people from all United Nations regions and diverse cultural backgrounds who participated in the second edition of the IPBES Youth workshop (2022). The workshop employed the Three Horizons framework and the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) to describe the plurality of youth visions for desirable nature futures and transformative pathways to achieve these visions. Based on the outcomes of the workshop, we conducted a qualitative content analysis categorizing the ideas and quantitatively assessed commonalities and differences among workshop groups, which were based on the NFF perspectives (nature for nature, nature for society, nature as culture, and a group in between perspectives). There were important differences in the visions and pathways articulated by the groups, but also commonalities, such as the importance of governance, community-based approaches, and education for achieving desirable nature futures. We also discuss the importance of flexibility in the NFF to accommodate diverse perspectives and involvement of youth in shaping global sustainability agendas. While many ideas raised by young people during this workshop align with existing conservation narratives, the study reveals the need to foster new and innovative ideas to drive transformative change that is sensitive to diverse contexts, histories, and experiences.