@article{MACKELWORTH2024106231,

title = {Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) as an enabling mechanism for transboundary marine spatial planning},

author = {P. Mackelworth and C. M. Fortuna and M. Antoninić and D. Holcer and D. Abdul-Malak and K. Attia and M. Bricelj and F. Guerquin and M. Marković and E. Nunes and C. Perez-Valverde and E. Ramieri and I. Stojanović and L. Tunesi and J. McGowan},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X2400229X},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106231},

issn = {0308-597X},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-01},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {166},

pages = {106231},

abstract = {As the new global biodiversity targets kick in, the signatories to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) are searching for means to fulfil their obligations. Fortunately, more than a decade ago a long-neglected solution was created for the marine environment. The ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) provide a means for opening discussions around the management of large marine areas, ideally with conservation as a core priority. While the biological and ecological criteria for the selection of the EBSAs is clearly outlined, there is little clarity on the means to manage or govern these areas. The conservation and management measures are left as a matter to be resolved by those states which maintain some form of jurisdiction over regions within an EBSA. Of course, these measures must be in accordance with international law. Within the Mediterranean there are 15 EBSAs which have been identified and recognised by the parties of the UNEP regional seas programme. For the past four years, technical and scientific discussions have looked to move the EBSA recognition of the Southern Adriatic Ionian Straight (SAIS) forward and identify potential governance frameworks. This work has included a biodiversity threat analysis, a legal and governance review, and a preliminary spatial prioritization. We report on the processes undertaken, the policy implications for the SAIS-EBSA and the way forward. This work has implications not only for this region but for other regions within the Mediterranean and beyond.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas, Transboundary management},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Bevilacqua2020,

title = {The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators},

author = {S. Bevilacqua and S. Katsanevakis and F. Micheli and E. Sala and G. Rilov and G. Sarà and D. Abdul-Malak and A. Abdulla and V. Gerovasileiou and E. Gissi and A. D. Mazaris and C. Pipitone and M. Sini and V. Stelzenmüller and A. Terlizzi and V. Todorova and S. Fraschetti},

url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00475},

doi = {10.3389/fmars.2020.00475},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-06-19},

journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},

abstract = {The Mediterranean Sea is subject to multiple human pressures increasingly threatening its unique biodiversity. Spatially explicit information on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is therefore key to an effective maritime spatial planning and management, and to help the achievement of environmental targets. Here, we summarized scientific data on the ecological status of a selection of marine ecosystems based on a set of ecological indicators in more than 700 sites of the Mediterranean Sea. For Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds, rocky intertidal fringe, and coastal soft bottoms, more than 70% of investigated sites exhibited good to high ecological conditions. In contrast, about two-thirds of sites for subtidal rocky reefs were classified to be in moderate to bad conditions, stressing the need for prioritizing conservation initiatives on these productive and diverse environments. Very little quantitative information was available for the southern Mediterranean Sea, thus monitoring programs and assessments in this area are essential for a representative assessment of the health of marine coastal ecosystems in the whole basin. This overview represents a first step to implement a baseline that, through georeferenced data on ecological status, could help identifying information gaps, directing future research priorities, and supporting improvements to spatial models of expected cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Ecosystem, Environmental conservation, Mediterranean sea},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodríguez2018f,

title = {Rapid assessment of protection and ecological effectiveness of the Spanish Fishing Reserve Network},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.01.009},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2018.01.009},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-02-13},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {90},

pages = {29-36},

abstract = {Fishing Reserves (FRs) are primarily designated for the enhancement of local fisheries and, secondarily, for biodiversity conservation. In Spain, FRs are considered marine protected areas (MPAs) and included in the country's MPA network. MPAs’ ecological effectiveness is linked to a number of legal, managerial and bio-physical factors. With the amount of MPA area rapidly rising and conservation funds largely stagnant or decreasing, rapid, cost-effective MPA assessment techniques are becoming increasingly useful to verify fulfillment of global conservation targets and ascertain potential conservation effectiveness. Here, a rapid MPA protection assessment framework and one MPA ecological effectiveness framework were applied to the Spanish Network of 10 FRs (FRN): the MaPAF and NEOLI frameworks. The FRN was moderately legally protected, with over 50.5% of its area having three or more overlapping legal designations, but only 3.8% of the FRN's area being no-take. All FRs had management plans and active surveillance. According to MaPAF, Columbretes FR was the most highly legally protected whereas Cabo de Palos was the FR with the greatest managerial effort. Both rank highest in protection. In contrast, Masía Blanca FR and Alborán FR were the least legally protected whereas Alborán FR and Graciosa FR were the least managerially protected FRs of the FRN and rank the lowest in protection, respectively. According to the NEOLI framework, Columbretes would also be the most effective FR whereas Masía Blanca FR would be the least ecologically effective. These results can help to spur and better allocate conservation efforts across the fastly growing Spanish MPA network.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Environmental conservation, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, SOSTPARK},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodríguez2016,

title = {Marine protected area design patterns in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for conservation},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and J. Rodríguez and J María Blanco and D. Abdul-Malak},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304896823_Marine_protected_area_design_patterns_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea_Implications_for_conservation},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.044},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-10-01},

journal = {Marine Pollution Bulletin },

volume = {110},

number = {1},

abstract = {Mediterranean marine protected area (MPA) design patterns regarding geographic distribution, size, spacing and shape were analysed as a proxy of the region's MPA's ecological effectiveness and a first step towards an ecologically coherent MPA network. Results for legally designated MPAs and ecologically functional MPAs accounting for overlaps are presented. Geographically, Mediterranean MPA area is very unevenly distributed, with four-fifths concentrated in just three countries of the north-western part of the basin. Average distance between functional MPAs lies within recommended ecological thresholds, which suggests adequate potential connectivity of the Mediterranean MPA system. Mediterranean designated MPAs are larger than MPAs worldwide on average, although they are generally smaller than international guidance suggests at different levels: ecoregion, country and designation category. On average, Mediterranean designated and functional MPAs have relatively high compactness, which makes them prone to spillover and adequate viability, and less vulnerable to edge effects.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodriguez-Rodriguez2016b,

title = {Development and testing of a new framework for rapidly assessing legal and managerial protection afforded by marine protected areas: Mediterranean Sea case study},

author = {D. Rodriguez-Rodriguez and J. Rodriguez, and D. Abdul-Malak},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284358773_Development_and_testing_of_a_new_framework_for_rapidly_assessing_legal_and_managerial_protection_afforded_by_marine_protected_areas_Mediterranean_Sea_case_study},

doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.016},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-02-01},

journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},

volume = {167},

pages = {29-37},

abstract = {The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) states the need to effectively conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas of particular importance for biodiversity by 2020. Here, a new indicator-based methodological framework to assess biodiversity protection afforded by marine protected areas' (MPA) was developed as a quick surrogate for MPAs' potential conservation effectiveness: the Marine Protected Area Protection Assessment Framework (MaPAF). The MaPAF consists of a limited number of headline indicators that are integrated in two indexes: Legal protection and Management effort, which eventually integrate in the overall MPA Protection super-index. The MaPAF was then tested in the Mediterranean MPA network as a case study. Spatial analyses were performed at three meaningful scales: the whole Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean ecoregions and countries. The results of this study suggest that: 1) The MaPAF can serve as a useful tool for consistent, adaptive, quick and cost-effective MPA effectiveness assessments of MPAs and MPA networks in virtually any marine region, as the headline indicators used are commonly compiled and easy to retrieve; 2) The MaPAF proved usable and potentially relevant in the Mediterranean Sea where most indicators in the framework can be publicly accessed through the MAPAMED database and are planned to be regularly updated; 3) Protection afforded by MPAs is low across the whole Mediterranean, with only few MPAs having relatively high legal and managerial protection; and 4) Most Mediterranean countries need to devote substantially more work to improve MPA effectiveness mainly through increased management effort. },

keywords = {Conservation and management, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodríguez2016c,

title = {Marine protected areas and fisheries restricted areas in the Mediterranean: Assessing "actual" marine biodiversity protection coverage at multiple scales},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and J. Rodríguez and D. Abdul-Malak and P. Hernandez},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304896848_Marine_protected_areas_and_fisheries_restricted_areas_in_the_Mediterranean_Assessing_actual_marine_biodiversity_protection_coverage_at_multiple_scales},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2015.11.006},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-02-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {64},

pages = {24-30},

abstract = {This study uses a tiered approach to assessing progress towards achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target to increase marine protected area (MPA) coverage to 10% at different scales: the whole Mediterranean Sea, by ecoregions and by countries. It additively considers marine protection coverage by conventional MPAs (cMPAs; tier 1); unconventional MPAs (uMPAs, including international Fisheries Restricted Areas –iFRAs-; tier 2); and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OEABCMs, including national FRAs -nFRAs; tier 3). It also discusses the appropriateness of considering tiers 2 & 3 as legal and managerial tools for sustainable marine development in national reporting against international protection coverage targets. At the Mediterranean Sea scale, by mid-2015 there were 1,077 cMPAs which covered 6.45% of its area. At the ecoregional scale, only the Western Mediterranean ecoregion exceeds the 10% coverage target. At national scale, four countries (Monaco, France, Spain and Turkey) currently exceed the 10% target for their entire hypothetical Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). The cMPA designations that contribute most to Mediterranean MPA coverage are Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs), the Pelagos Sanctuary, Natura 2000 sites and national designations, respectively. When considering uMPAs, the amount of marine area under protection in the Mediterranean reaches 1,632,507 km2 or roughly 64.48% of the Mediterranean Sea area; all the ecoregions more than double the CBD coverage target; all countries but Malta meet the target in their inshore waters; and all countries meet the target in their whole hypothetical EEZs. Finally, nFRAs contributed 565 km2 of additional protected area and made the percentage of legally protected marine area reach 64.50% of the total Mediterranean Sea area.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodrígueza2016,

title = {Marine protected areas and fisheries restricted areas in the Mediterranean: assessing “actual” marine biodiversity protection coverage at multiple scales},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and J. Rodríguez and D. Abdul-Malak and A. Nastasi and P. Hernández},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15003255},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.11.006},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-02-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {64},

pages = {24-30},

abstract = {This study uses a tiered approach to assessing progress towards achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target to increase marine protected area (MPA) coverage to 10% at different scales: the whole Mediterranean Sea, by ecoregions and by countries. It additively considers marine protection coverage by conventional MPAs (cMPAs; tier 1); unconventional MPAs (uMPAs, including international Fisheries Restricted Areas – iFRAs-; tier 2); and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OEABCMs, including national FRAs–nFRAs; tier 3). It also discusses the appropriateness of considering tiers 2 and 3 as legal and managerial tools for sustainable marine development in national reporting against international protection coverage targets. At the Mediterranean Sea scale, by mid-2015 there were 1077 cMPAs which covered 6.45% of its area. At the ecoregional scale, only the Western Mediterranean ecoregion exceeds the 10% coverage target. At national scale, four countries (Monaco, France, Spain and Turkey) currently exceed the 10% target for their entire hypothetical Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). The cMPA designations that contribute most to Mediterranean MPA coverage are Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs), the Pelagos Sanctuary, Natura 2000 sites and national designations, respectively. When considering uMPAs, the amount of marine area under protection in the Mediterranean reaches 1,632,507 km2 or roughly 64.48% of the Mediterranean Sea area; all the ecoregions more than double the CBD coverage target; all countries but Malta meet the target in their inshore waters; and all countries meet the target in their whole hypothetical EEZs. Finally, nFRAs contributed 565 km2 of additional protected area and made the percentage of legally protected marine area reach 64.50% of the total Mediterranean Sea area.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodríguez2016e,

title = {Development and testing of a new framework for rapidly assessing legal and managerial protection afforded by marine protected areas: Mediterranean Sea case study},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and J. Rodríguez and D. Abdul-Malak},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479715303704},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.016},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-02-01},

journal = {Journal of Environmental Management},

volume = {167},

pages = {29-37},

abstract = {The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) states the need to effectively conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas of particular importance for biodiversity by 2020. Here, a new indicator-based methodological framework to assess biodiversity protection afforded by marine protected areas' (MPA) was developed as a quick surrogate for MPAs' potential conservation effectiveness: the Marine Protected Area Protection Assessment Framework (MaPAF). The MaPAF consists of a limited number of headline indicators that are integrated in two indexes: Legal protection and Management effort, which eventually integrate in the overall MPA Protection super-index. The MaPAF was then tested in the Mediterranean MPA network as a case study. Spatial analyses were performed at three meaningful scales: the whole Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean ecoregions and countries. The results of this study suggest that: 1) The MaPAF can serve as a useful tool for consistent, adaptive, quick and cost-effective MPA effectiveness assessments of MPAs and MPA networks in virtually any marine region, as the headline indicators used are commonly compiled and easy to retrieve; 2) The MaPAF proved usable and potentially relevant in the Mediterranean Sea where most indicators in the framework can be publicly accessed through the MAPAMED database and are planned to be regularly updated; 3) Protection afforded by MPAs is low across the whole Mediterranean, with only few MPAs having relatively high legal and managerial protection; and 4) Most Mediterranean countries need to devote substantially more work to improve MPA effectiveness mainly through increased management effort.},

keywords = {Conservation and management, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Protected areas},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Rodríguez-Rodrígueza2015,

title = {Cumulative pressures and low protection: a concerning blend for Mediterranean MPAs},

author = {D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez and A. Sánchez-Espinosa and C. Schröder and D. Abdul-Malak and J. Rodríguez},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15300540},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.09.039},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-12-01},

journal = {Marine Pollution Bulletin},

volume = {101},

pages = {288-295},

abstract = {This study classifies Mediterranean marine protected areas (MPAs) according to the combined result of pressure level and protection. Six major marine environment pressures were considered: pressures from fish farms, fishing, marine litter, pressures from marinas, pollution from maritime transport, and climate change. MPA protection was assessed through legal protection and management effort. Most MPA area in the Mediterranean is under relatively high pressure level and afforded low protection. Inshore areas show higher pressure levels. Five marine ecoregions, nine countries and nineteen MPA designation categories have over 50% of their MPA area under major concern. The mean number of cumulative pressures occurring in priority MPAs ranges between three and four, although the mean combined intensity of those pressures is low. However, these figures are most likely underestimated, especially for the southern Mediterranean. The most concerning pressures to MPAs regarding extent and intensity were: climate change, fishing and pollution from maritime transport.},

keywords = {Climate Change, Marine protected areas, Mediterranean sea, Pressures},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Abdul-Malak2015,

title = {Fire Recurrence and the Dynamics},

author = {D. Abdul-Malak and J. G. Pausa and J. E. Pardo-Pascual and L. A. Ruiz},

url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271468045_Fire_Recurrence_and_the_Dynamics_of_the_Enhanced_Vegetation_Index_in_a_Mediterranean_Ecosystem},

doi = {10.4018/ijagr.2015040102},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-04-01},

journal = {International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research},

volume = {6},

number = {2},

pages = {18-35},

abstract = {This study area is located in the eastern littoral of the Iberian Peninsula; its importance resides in its Mediterranean ecosystem, complex topography, extensive land use changes, and intensive forest fires history. The study is done at the landscape level, covering a wide area for an extended period of time. This work uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) techniques to evaluate the impact of spatio-temporal parameters on shaping Mediterranean landscapes. Interacting ecological parameters are analysed and correlated to post-fire vegetation regeneration in an attempt to understand its dynamics. The results provide evidence that the number of fires separated by short time intervals influence vegetation growth negatively measured as Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). During this period, micro-climatic effects (soil and environmental humidity) are major factors influencing EVI-measured vegetation regeneration. The conclusions expect shifts in Mediterranean plant communities in heavily burned ecosystems stressing the importance of their correct short and long term post-fire management.},

keywords = {Forest, Forest fire, Mediterranean sea},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}