Reconciling competing objectives for the design of marine reserve networks: biodiversity, food security, and local equity in benefits (2013-2018)
Abstract
Concern is mounting over the prospect for food security and biodiversity in tropical coastal areas. Meeting this challenge has seen a growth in the implementation of marine reserves both to manage fisheries and biodiversity. Theoretically, reserve criteria for fisheries and biodiversity are starkly different, particularly in their treatment of larval connectivity among reefs. Yet, these divergent objectives have not been reconciled. Ecologists and decision-theorists collaborate with two international "reserve implementation" agencies to develop a new reserve design that meets the dual objectives of fisheries and biodiversity while also responding to concerns over climate change and offering a socially-equitable distribution of benefits.
