Designing better-connected, climate-smart marine protected areas in the high seas

Climate change and biodiversity loss are intertwined global problems; failure to address one often exacerbates the effects of the other. The world is moving towards ambitious global targets in conservation and sustainable development to address these global crises (e.g., the Kunming-Montreal GBF’s ‘30 by 30’ initiative, UN’s BBNJ Agreement). With these global commitments, implementing new MPAs will be inevitable; thus, there is a unique opportunity to design new MPAs with climate change in mind. However, science has been slow to translate advances in climate-change ecology into concrete measures on the ground. This project aims to help bridge this gap by drafting a framework for identifying Important Climate Areas, which are candidate priority areas that should be considered in conservation plans to effectively conserve biodiversity amidst climate change, focusing on the high seas— areas beyond national jurisdiction, comprising >60% of the global oceans. Both the University of Queensland (home) and Dalhousie University (host) have a breadth of conservation research that is applied on-the-ground and has influenced policy, both nationally and internationally. This project aims to produce policy-ready materials that could inform the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, which could further bolster the impact of the research from these universities.

Faculty Supervisor:

Anna Metaxas

Student:

Partner:

The University of Queensland

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: