Strategy
By developing new planning, monitoring and knowledge-management methods, BioMar aims to improve and strengthen PAs management structures in the Gulf of California. The purpose of these tools is to strengthen coordination between PAs in the Gulf of California and their main partners through a cooperation network that includes comprehensive strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. To attain this goal, Biomar is developing strategic plans to promote adaptive-management for clusters of PAs, as well as ecological score cards and condition reports for all the PAs in the region. The score cards provide information on the state and trends of key ecological attributes in the PA and assist in informing management decisions. In addition, climate change considerations will be integrated into PA management in order to address its impact on marine and coastal ecosystems. Finally, support will be provided for the effective use of geographic information systems as well as control and surveillance programs to enhance the impact of management strategies and actions.
Expected Results
Through the use of a variety of instruments and tools, adaptive management of the PAs will be promoted. This process will include a more systematic exchange of information and closer coordination with partners to help address a variety of challenges and improve the effectiveness of conservation actions. To ensure continuous learning from successes and failures during the management cycle, management effectiveness will be measured. In addition, climate change adaptation strategies will be integrated into planning, management and monitoring processes of the PAs and are expected to help mitigate the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
Areas of Work
- Generate or update ecological scorecards and condition reports following the guidelines developed by The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in order to give continuity to the efforts of Canada, the United States and Mexico in developing an integrated monitoring system in the marine PAs of the three countries.
- Create strategic plans for clusters of PAs in order to establish common strategies between CONANP, government institutions and partners to work together in conservation and biodiversity management efforts.
- Assess the effectiveness of PAs management using the standards developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Develop climate change vulnerability studies and support the development of adaptation strategies following CONANP’s Climate Change Strategy for Protected Areas (CCSPA).
- Establish a geographic information system (GIS) in the Gulf of California as a tool to facilitate PAs management and set-up a database between the PAs and Regional Offices.
- Implement innovative control and surveillance systems.