It has long been claimed that a better understanding of human or social dimensions of
environmental issues will improve conservation. The social sciences are one important …

Recent estimates put average coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) at about 20–
30%. This is estimated to be a large reduction since the 1960s. The Great Barrier Reef …

Large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) are rapidly increasing. Due to their sheer
size, complex socio-political realities, and distinct local cultural perspectives and economic …

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly faced with human impacts. To better understand these
changing conditions, biophysical and economic values of nature have been used to …

Spatial management, including setting aside conservation areas, is central to curbing the
global decline of biodiversity, but many threats originate from beyond the boundaries of …

Addressing social and economic considerations is crucial to the success of Marine Protected
Area (MPA) planning and management. Ineffective social assessment can alienate local …

There is currently a rare opportunity to inform emerging efforts to implement coastal and
marine spatial planning (CMSP) in the United States, Europe and elsewhere around the …

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) is a rapidly advancing discipline aimed at providing
decision support for choices between alternate conservation actions. SCP is often used to …

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) now form an important part of marine conservation and
fisheries management; hence, there is broad interest in developing procedures that optimize …

Investment of time and resources in conservation planning has grown exponentially in
recent years; yet there has been limited evaluation of the benefits and costs of investing in …