Priority areas to protect mangroves and maximise ecosystem services

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Anthropogenic activities pose significant threats to global biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Existing area-based conservation efforts often prioritize biodiversity protection over ecosystem services, leading to suboptimal outcomes.
• Mangroves are critical ecosystems providing essential services but face increasing threats.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify priority areas for mangrove conservation that maximize the protection of both biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• To evaluate the adequacy of current protected areas in representing mangrove species and services.
• To quantify the potential benefits of optimizing conservation efforts for mangrove protection.

Main Methods:

• Spatial analysis of mangrove distribution, biodiversity, and ecosystem service provision.
• Assessment of current protected area coverage against conservation targets.
• Modeling of potential benefits from optimized conservation strategies.

Main Results:

• Despite 13.5% of mangroves being protected, key species are inadequately represented, and crucial ecosystem service areas are overlooked.
• Optimizing conservation to protect 30% of global mangroves could secure an additional $16.3 billion in coastal property value, protect 6.1 million people, sequester 1173.1 Tg C, and preserve 50.7 million fisher days annually.
• Current conservation strategies are insufficient for comprehensive mangrove protection.

Conclusions:

• There is an urgent need to integrate ecosystem services into the design of protected areas.
• Strategic prioritization and coordination of mangrove conservation can yield substantial benefits for human wellbeing.
• Optimized conservation planning is essential for effective mangrove management and the sustained delivery of ecosystem services.