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Advances and challenges in marine conservation in Chile: A regional and global comparison
Author(s) -
Fernández Miriam,
RodríguezRuiz Montserrat,
Gelcich Stefan,
HiriartBertrand Luciano,
Castilla Juan Carlos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aquatic conservation: marine and freshwater ecosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1099-0755
pISSN - 1052-7613
DOI - 10.1002/aqc.3570
Subject(s) - marine protected area , geography , representativeness heuristic , indigenous , distribution (mathematics) , marine conservation , convention on biological diversity , biodiversity , environmental resource management , continental shelf , protected area , exclusive economic zone , environmental protection , fishery , habitat , ecology , environmental science , mathematics , psychology , social psychology , mathematical analysis , archaeology , biology
Despite significant progress made in Chile, and globally, in establishing marine protected areas (MPAs), the actual contribution to marine biodiversity conservation needs to be revised, to focus on representativeness and the diversity of tools alongside effective implementation, management, and enforcement. This study makes progress in this direction, describing the most recent advances in marine conservation in Chile and analysing the contribution of the different conservation instruments as well as the distribution of designated areas across ecoregions. Furthermore, it examines the potential contribution of alternative area‐based instruments to balance ocean protection. The advances observed in Chile were compared among four South American countries and five leading countries in ocean conservation, analysing protection levels in coastal areas, continental exclusive economic zones, and overseas territories. Data on MPA boundaries and attributes were sourced from the World Database on Protected Areas and complemented the official information on MPAs and territorial user rights for fisheries and for indigenous people in South America. The current level of protection in Chile is among the highest in the world in area coverage and in the proportion of the continental exclusive economic zone assigned to fully protected areas. However, it exhibits the strongest imbalances in the distribution of designated MPAs between coastal and oceanic waters, in comparison with the leading countries and also within South America (Perú, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay), and among ecoregions. The patterns observed suggest that Chile has advanced, but concentrated, conservation efforts in low‐threat, remote ecoregions. There is an urgent need to progress towards high‐threat ecoregions, which implies balancing the needs of nature and people. The distribution of ancillary conservation instruments can help double the level of protection in threatened coastal areas, filling gaps in marine conservation and creating an opportunity to progress and diversify conservation strategies.