Page 22 - climate-change2013

Cumulative effects

and natural resilience

Marine protected area in Malta, between Rdum Majjiesa and Ras ir-Raheb. Photo: M. Otero

The majority of Mediterranean MPAs have been clas- This accumulation of stressors can considerably de-
sified as multiple-use MPAs, which seek a balance be- crease the resilience of MPA ecosystems to an ad-
tween biodiversity conservation and some sustainable ditional stress such as climate change. That is, their
level of human use. Less than 0.1% of the Mediterrane- natural capacity to absorb, resist or recover from distur-
an’s total area is covered by strict protection and/or no- bances or to adapt to these changes without causing
take zones, and MPAs in Categories IV (Management community shifts or local population extinctions.
areas for habitats and species) and II (National Parks)
with some level of human use are the most common As the natural resilience of marine habitats is likely to
management types (Day et al., 2012; Gabrié et al., 2012). diminish in the future, it is essential that appropriate
management actions are implemented to reduce these
Even with management, many MPAs may be exposed impacts. The most effective ways include reducing the
to several simultaneous stressors such as commercial number and intensity of threats, particularly in areas of
and recreational fishing, pollution, habitat degradation projected high risk (vulnerable areas), and incorporating
and climate change, often acting in synergy and thereby
amplifying their individual impacts on the marine ecosys-
tem and its communities (Harley and Rogers-Bennett,
2004). Moreover, MPAs are increasingly threatened by Natural resilience: Resilience refers
the expanding coastal development and intense tourist to the amount of disturbance or stress
activities around the Mediterranean, particularly during that an ecosystem or species can
the summer. The cumulative impacts of these diverse absorb and still remain capable of
activities are missed, however, if activities are evaluated returning to its pre-disturbance state.
and managed in isolation from one another.

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