Rethinking MPAs - Protecting seagrass for biodiversity, food and climate

Marine Protected Area (MPA) use has become one of the most widespread tools aiming to reduce the loss of marine species and habitats. A new global agenda to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 provides a window of opportunity to rethink MPA design to maximize their benefits for both nature and society. In the Indo-Pacific, a region with high levels of poverty, seagrasses provide several important benefits to humans, such as productive fisheries and coastal protection. Seagrass specific conservation measures are rare and seldom a priority in tropical conservation strategies or targeted in MPAs. In the proposed project, we will assess how MPAs could be better designed to help safeguard the future of Indo-Pacific seagrasses and, indirectly, the crucial benefits they provide to coastal communities. We will combine ecological field surveys over time and space with social science analyses and social-ecological modelling. We will address drivers of seagrass cover and species composition; synergies and trade-offs between seagrass protection and socio-economic development; how we can rethink MPA design to include seagrass, and the key factors to consider for policymakers and managers. The methods described and the anticipated results are at the forefront of marine conservation issues and highly relevant not only to seagrass research but to all research aimed at developing conservation solutions through multi-scale stakeholder engagement.