Elizabeth M. De Santo

Missing marine protected area (MPA) targets: How the push for quantity over quality undermines sustainability and social justice

International targets for marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs set by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity failed to meet their 2012 deadline and have been extended to 2020. Whilst targets play an important role in building momentum for conservation, they are also responsible for the recent designation of several extremely large no-take MPAs, which pose significant long-term monitoring and enforcement challenges. This paper critically examines the effectiveness of MPA targets, focusing on the underlying risks to achieving Millennium Development Goals posed by the global push for quantity versus quality of MPAs. The observations outlined in this paper have repercussions for international protected area politics with respect to (1) the science-policy interface in environmental decision-making, and (2) social justice concerns in global biodiversity conservation.

What do students learn from a role-play simulation of an international negotiation?

This article uses pre- and post-surveys to assess learning outcomes associated with a role-play simulation set within a fictionalized extension of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Quantitative and qualitative data suggest that the simulation increased student appreciation of the complexity of international negotiation, but decreased student interest and self-assessment of skill proficiency. These results underscore the learning potential of the role-play simulation: it challenges notions of student idealism, leaving students with a more realistic sense of why Multilateral Environmental Agreements are so difficult to negotiate in the real-world.

Distribution and ecology of freshwater sponges in Connecticut

A survey of Connecticut lakes and rivers revealed the presence of 7 species of freshwater sponge: Spongilla lacustris, Ephydatia muelleri, Eunapius fragilis, Anheteromeyenia ryderi, A. argyrosperma, Corvomeyenia carolinensis, and Corvospongilla novaeterrae in order of decreasing frequency of occurrence. Corvomeyenia carolinensis has not been reported previously beyond its type locality in South Carolina. In addition, microscleres of Spongilla lacustris, Anheteromeyenia-like megascleres, Ephydatia muelleri-like megascleres, and smooth megascleres (amphioxeas), which could not be assigned to a particular species, were found in surface sediments from lake cores. Spongilla lacustris inhabiting small rivers produced brown, thick-capsuled gemmules during the summer and yellow, thin-capsuled gemmules during the fall. The thick-capsuled gemmules, but not the thin-capsuled gemmules, are tolerant of desiccation; and populations of Spongilla lacustris and Ephydatia muelleri survived severe drying of their habitats during the summer.

From Paper Parks to Private Conservation: The Role of NGOs in Adapting Marine Protected Area Strategies to Climate Change

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a tool not only for ecosystem-based conservation and sustainable fisheries management but also for mitigating the environmental impacts of climate change. While governments have traditionally held primary responsibility for designating and enforcing protected areas, there has been a rise in recent decades in the designation of private protected areas, owned and managed by private individuals and/or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). To date, research on private protected areas has focused primarily on terrestrial examples. The number of private conservation initiatives in the marine environment is increasing, however, and is likely to continue to do so, given the global push, currently underway, to create additional marine protected areas. International targets for designating MPAs have gained importance due to the fact that global marine conservation has lagged significantly behind terrestrial conservation. While 12.2% of the planet’s land area is protected,

Investigating Student Perceptions of Knowledge Acquisition within a Role-Play Simulation of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Abstract This article investigates the particular mechanisms through which a role-play simulation impacts student perceptions of knowledge acquisition. Longitudinal data were mobilized in the form of quantitative and qualitative surveys to examine whether the simulation succeeded in increasing knowledge around both content and skills. It then delves deeper into the relationship between simulations and knowledge transmission by exploring the role of online technologies and stakeholder choice as mediators. This analysis reveals two major insights: (1) the importance of thoughtfully embedding the simulation within the overarching logic of the course itself, and (2) the potential contribution of online technologies to enhancing student knowledge acquisition.

Science, information, and policy interface for effective coastal and ocean management

To read Science, Information, and Policy Interface for Effective Coastal and Ocean Management eBook, please refer to the link below and download the ebook or get access to additional information which might be highly relevant to SCIENCE, INFORMATION, AND POLICY INTERFACE FOR EFFECTIVE COASTAL AND OCEAN MANAGEMENT book. Read PDF Science, Information, and Policy Interface for Effective Coastal and Ocean Management Authored by Bertrum H MacDonald (editor) Released at 2016

A Review of “Conservation on the High Seas: Harmonizing International Regimes for the Sustainable Use of Living Resources”

The high seas present exciting opportunities for legal scholars interested in the management and conservation of living marine resources. From Hugo Grotius’ “Mare Liberum” in 1609 to the modern paradigm for global regulation of the use of the oceans that is contained in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), law and lawyers have played a major role in defining the boundaries of and permissible activities within the high seas. The host of legal issues raised as successive generations re-think and re-define their relationship to the oceans of the world have been and continue to be both contentious and challenging for the legal community. The high seas are currently defined as those parts of the oceans beyond 200 nautical miles from shore. This has become the normal limit for the outer boundary of national Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), consequently the high seas are also referred to in contemporary marine management parlance as the “Area Beyond National Jurisdiction” (ABNJ). Simone Borg’s new book aims to explore the sustainable use of living resources on the high seas, with a particular focus on the complex array of legislation addressing fisheries management outlined by UNCLOS and subsequently developed and implemented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and various Regional Fisheries Management Agreements and Organizations (RFMOs). The legal norms set out in this corpus of both hard and soft law are arguably fragmented. They do, however, interact with one another and Borg examines this interaction as it relates to: (1) jurisdictional issues, (2) the legal implications of the content of conservation obligations, and (3) compliance and enforcement considerations. Borg’s approach and methodology are straightforward. She begins by examining the provisions of UNCLOS that are relevant to the conservation of biodiversity on the high seas and then moves to an analysis of how the law