Browsing by Author "Fonseca, Catarina"
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- Assessing the efficiency of protected areas to represent biodiversity : a small island case studyPublication . Vergílio, Marta H. S.; Fonseca, Catarina; Calado, Helena; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Elias, Rui B.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Martins, António; Azevedo, Eduardo B.; Cardoso, PedroProtected areas (PAs) have been selected using either subjective or objective criteria applied to an extremely limited subset of biodiversity. Improved availability of species distribution data, better statistical tools to predict species distributions and algorithms to optimize spatial conservation planning allow many impediments to be overcome, particularly on small islands. This study analyses whether 219 species are adequately protected by PAs on Pico Island (theAzores, Portugal), and if they are as efficient as possible, maximizing species protection while minimizing costs. We performed distribution modelling of species’ potential distributions, proposed individual conservation targets (considering the context of each species in the archipelago and their current conservation status) to determine the efficiency of current PAs in meeting such targets and identify alternative or complementary areas relevant for conservation. Results showed that current PAs do not cover all taxa, leaving out important areas for conservation. We demonstrate that by using optimization algorithms it is possible to include most species groups in spatial conservation planning in the Azores with the current resources. With increasing availability of data and methods, this approach could be readily extended to other islands and regions with high endemism levels.
- Avaliar a eficiência das áreas protegidas para representar a biodiversidade: o caso de estudo de uma pequena ilhaPublication . Vergílio, Marta H. S.; Fonseca, Catarina; Calado, Helena; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Elias, Rui B.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Martins, António; Azevedo, Eduardo B.; Cardoso, Pedro[…]. Nos Açores podem ser encontradas inúmeras espécies endémicas que tornam este arquipélago importante, do ponto de vista da conservação dos valores naturais. A rede de APs nos Açores está organizada em Parques Naturais de Ilha, no Parque Marinho dos Açores e em APs de importância local. O Parque Natural de Ilha (PNI) engloba diferentes categorias de áreas terrestres e marinhas, que possuem diferentes objectivos de conservação. No sentido de avaliar a adequação dos actuais limites das APs do ponto de vista da conservação das espécies, tendo a Ilha do Pico como caso de estudo, foram analisadas 219 espécies nativas dos Açores (briófitos, plantas vasculares, moluscos, artrópodes e vertebrados), na sua maioria endémicas. […].
- Capacidade de carga de praias. Conceitos, reflexões e desafiosPublication . Silva, Carlos P.; Fonseca, CatarinaOs sistemas litorais são naturalmente sensíveis, susceptíveis a impactos negativos derivados de ações antrópicas que podem gerar mudanças irreversíveis. No entanto, as atividades humanas nessas áreas revestem-se de grande importância econômica, como o turismo balnear. Desde os anos 1960, com a massificação do turismo, as praias são espaços eleitos para o recreio e lazer, emergindo daí problemas de ordenamento e gestão. Por outro lado, o número crescente de usuários de praias torna-se também mais exigente, fazendo que a sua percepção e avaliação seja um elemento central para a gestão desses espaços. É assim importante que o seu planejamento vá também ao encontro das expectativas dos usuários, emergindo o conceito de capacidade de carga como aspecto importante para tal. De forma simplificada, a capacidade de carga de uma praia pode ser entendida como a relação entre a área disponível e o seu nível de ocupação. No entanto, existem diversos outros fatores que devem ser considerados na avaliação da capacidade de carga.
- A conceptual framework to help choose appropriate blue nature-based solutionsPublication . Pérez, Géraldine; O'Leary, Bethan C; Allegri, Elena; Casal, Gema; Cornet, Cindy C.; de Juan, Silvia; Failler, Pierre; Fredriksen, Stein; Fonseca, Catarina; Furlan, Elisa; Gil, Artur José Freire; Hawkins, Julie P.; Maréchal, Jean-Philippe; McCarthy, Tim; Roberts, Callum M.; Trégarot, Ewan; Van Der Geest, Matthijs; Simide, RémyBiodiversity loss and climate change have severely impacted ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide, compromising access to food and water, increasing disaster risk, and affecting human health globally. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained interest in addressing these global societal challenges. Although much effort has been directed to NbS in urban and terrestrial environments, the implementation of NbS in marine and coastal environments (blue NbS) lags. The lack of a framework to guide decision-makers and practitioners through the initial planning stages appears to be one of the main obstacles to the slow implementation of blue NbS. To address this, we propose an integrated conceptual framework, built from expert knowledge, to inform the selection of the most appropriate blue NbS based on desired intervention objectives and social-ecological context. Our conceptual framework follows a four incremental steps structure: Step 1 aims to identify the societal challenge(s) to address; Step 2 highlights ecosystem services and the underlying biodiversity and ecological functions that could contribute to confronting the societal challenge(s); Step 3 identify the specific environmental context the intervention needs to be set within (e.g. the spatial scale the intervention will operate within, the ecosystem's vulnerability to stressors, and its ecological condition); and Step 4 provides a selection of potential blue NbS interventions that would help address the targeted societal challenge(s) considering the context defined through Step 3. Designed to maintain, enhance, recover, rehabilitate, or create ecosystem services by supporting biodiversity, the blue NbS intervention portfolio includes marine protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected areas), restorative activities (i.e., active, passive, and partial restoration; rehabilitation of ecological function and ecosystem creation), and other management measures (i.e., implementation and enforcement of regulation). Ultimately, our conceptual framework guides decision-makers toward a versatile portfolio of interventions that cater to the specific needs of each ecosystem rather than imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all model. In the future, this framework needs to integrate socio-economic considerations more comprehensively and be kept up-to-date by including the latest scientific information.
- Embracing Nature-based Solutions to promote resilient marine and coastal ecosystemsPublication . O'Leary, Bethan C.; Fonseca, Catarina; Cornet, Cindy C.; de Vries, Mindert B.; Degia, A. Karima; Failler, Pierre; Furlan, Elisa; Garrabou, Joaquim; Gil, Artur José Freire; Hawkins, Julie P.; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Le Roux, Xavier; Peck, Myron A.; Pérez, Géraldine; Queirós, Ana M.; Różyński, Grzegorz; Sanchez-Arcilla, Agustín; Simide, Rémy; Pinto, Isabel Sousa; Trégarot, Ewan; Roberts, Callum M.The world is struggling to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the human footprint on nature. We therefore urgently need to think about how to achieve more with actions to address mounting challenges for human health and wellbeing from biodiversity loss, climate change effects, and unsustainable economic and social development. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as a systemic approach and an important component of the response to these challenges. In marine and coastal spaces, NBS can contribute to improved environmental health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a more sustainable blue economy, if implemented to a high standard. However, NBS have been largely studied for terrestrial – particularly urban – systems, with limited uptake thus far in marine and coastal areas, despite an abundance of opportunities. Here, we provide explanations for this lag and propose the following three research priorities to advance marine and coastal NBS: (1) Improve understanding of marine and coastal biodiversity-ecosystem services relationships to support NBS better designed for rebuilding system resilience and achieving desired ecological outcomes under climate change; (2) Provide scientific guidance on how and where to implement marine and coastal NBS and better coordinate strategies and projects to facilitate their design, effectiveness, and value through innovative synergistic actions; (3) Develop ways to enhance marine and coastal NBS communication, collaboration, ocean literacy and stewardship to raise awareness, co-create solutions with stakeholders, boost public and policy buy-in, and potentially drive a more sustained investment. Research effort in these three areas will help practitioners, policy-makers and society embrace NBS for managing marine and coastal ecosystems for tangible benefits to people and marine life.
- Evaluating the combined effect of climate and anthropogenic stressors on marine coastal ecosystems: Insights from a systematic review of cumulative impact assessment approachesPublication . Simeoni, Christian; Furlan, Elisa; Pham, Hoang-Vuong; Critto, Andrea; de Juan, Silvia; Trégarot, Ewan; Cornet, Cindy C.; Meesters, Erik; Fonseca, Catarina; Botelho, A.Z.; Krause, Torsten; N'Guetta, Alicia; Cordova, Fabiola Espinoza; Failler, Pierre; Marcomini, AntonioABSTRACT: Cumulative impacts increasingly threaten marine and coastal ecosystems. To address this issue, the research community has invested efforts on designing and testing different methodological approaches and tools that apply cumulative impact appraisal schemes for a sound evaluation of the complex interactions and dynamics among multiple pressures affecting marine and coastal ecosystems. Through an iterative scientometric and systematic literature review, this paper provides the state of the art of cumulative impact assessment approaches and applications. It gives a specific attention to cutting-edge approaches that explore and model inter-relations among climatic and anthropogenic pressures, vulnerability and resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to these pressures, and the resulting changes in ecosystem services flow. Despite recent advances in computer sciences and the rising availability of big data for environmental monitoring and management, this literature review evidenced that the implementation of advanced complex system methods for cumulative risk assessment remains limited. Moreover, experts have only recently started integrating ecosystem services flow into cumulative impact appraisal frameworks, but more as a general assessment endpoint within the overall evaluation process (e.g. changes in the bundle of ecosystem services against cumulative impacts). The review also highlights a lack of integrated approaches and complex tools able to frame, explain, and model spatio-temporal dynamics of marine and coastal ecosystems' response to multiple pressures, as required under relevant EU legislation (e.g., Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives). Progress in understanding cumulative impacts, exploiting the functionalities of more sophisticated machine learning-based approaches (e.g., big data integration), will support decision-makers in the achievement of environmental and sustainability objectives.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation : A literature review of existing frameworks and indicatorsPublication . Halim, Firdaous; Fonseca, Catarina; O'Leary, Bethan C.; Villasante, SebastiánClimate change is generating a broad range of negative impacts worldwide, particularly on marine and coastal ecosystems (MCE) (IPCC-SROCC, 2019 and IPBES-IPCC, 2021). These impacts include coastal flooding and erosion, sea-level rise and storm surges. To adapt to these adverse effects and improve the well-being of coastal communities, engineered approaches have traditionally been used; however, there is growing recognition of the potential of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to address these impacts while enhancing biodiversity (Baustian et al., 2020 and Chausson et al., 2020). NbS are actions that aim to address societal challenges and provide socialecological benefits by harnessing ecological processes (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016). They have the potential to support climate change adaptation, for example, through storm surge attenuation, wave height reduction and flood protection; thus, enhancing ecosystem resilience and the provision of ecosystem services (i.e., improved fish stocks, biodiversity conservation, coastal tourism and recreation) (Chausson et al., 2020; Seddon et al., 2020; UNEP, 2021). […].
- Expert knowledge-based co-development of scenarios for maritime spatial planning in the Northeast AtlanticPublication . Calado, Helena; Pegorelli, Camila; Vergílio, Marta H. S.; Hipólito, Cláudia; Campos, Aldino; Moniz, Fabiana; Costa, Ana Cristina; Silva, C. Pereira da; Fonseca, Catarina; Santos, C. Frazão; Gabriel, Daniela; Guerreiro, J.; Gil, Artur José Freire; Johnson, David; Ng, Kiat; Monwar, M. M.; Ventura, Maria A.; Suárez-de Vivero, J. L.; Pinho, Mário Rui; Borges, Paulo Jorge Soares de Amaral; Caña-Varona, Mario; Papaioannou, E. A.Scenarios constitute narratives or storylines that reasonably describe how the future is likely to unfold. The usefulness of scenarios in Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is now recognised within policy and research, with many institutions urging the development of likely trajectories in the future state of the marine environment and space. However, little progress exists in the actual development and application of actual scenario building approaches. This paper presents the methodology and results of such an approach developed within the framework of the “Geographical and Political Scenarios in Maritime Spatial Planning for the Azores and North Atlantic (GPS Azores)” project. A scenario-building approach for MSP in the area is developed and future scenarios’ storylines are formulated through the active engagement of regional experts. Outcomes from the analysis enable identifying the major risks and opportunities in the management and use of marine space and key maritime sectors, under different scenarios. Three storylines are developed representing distinct trajectories in the use and governance of marine space: (i) Nature at Work; (ii) Business-as-usual; and (iii) Blue Development. Final storylines are the outcome of intense experts’ engagement throughout the scenario-building exercise, stressing the usefulness of such participative approaches. Results can assist policymakers in the context of an adaptive and participatory MSP approach. The methodology can be tailored to other regions, while results can be revisited and adapted as new information and knowledge emerge.
- Framing adaptive capacity of coastal communities: A review of the role of scientific framing in indicator-based adaptive capacity assessments in coastal social-ecological systemsPublication . Espinoza Córdova, Fabiola; Krause, Torsten; Furlan, Elisa; Allegri, Elena; O'Leary, Bethan C.; Degia, Karima; Trégarot, Ewan; Cornet, Cindy C.; de Juan, Silvia; Fonseca, Catarina; Simide, Rémy; Perez, GéraldineIn the current context of climate and anthropogenic change, assessing the adaptive capacity of coastal communities, i.e., their ability to adapt, navigate and/or recover from the impacts of change is key in coastal management and decision-making processes. Framing in adaptive capacity assessments (i.e., what is highlighted) influences how coastal communities’ adaptive capacity is perceived and understood, carrying profound ethical and political implications for governance. The significance of framing within assessments of adaptive capacity has been acknowledged, yet limited research delves into the dynamics of this process, particularly within coastal-social ecological settings. Through a systematic literature review, we address this knowledge gap by exploring how scholarly assessments frame adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems and analyzing their potential implications in coastal adaptation governance. We focus on adaptive capacity assessments using indicators, given their prominence as a frequently employed methodology by policy makers. Our results reveal that assessments are predominately framed under vulnerability frameworks, focusing on how adaptive capacity moderates the impact of climate-related variability using single-level data from individuals or households. Typically, these assessments rely on attributes related to socio-economic factors, access to assets and livelihood diversity to assess present adaptive capacity, with researchers and their paradigms playing a significant role in framing these assessments. We propose that this prevailing perspective may not support coastal communities in meeting the complex challenges they are facing. By providing this comprehensive review on the scientific framing of adaptive capacity assessments in coastal social-ecological systems, we contribute towards advancing frame-reflective adaptive capacity research.
- Mapping recreational ecosystem services from stakeholders' perspective in the AzoresPublication . Seijo Núñez, Cristina; Calado, Helena; McClintock, William; Gil, Artur José Freire; Fonseca, CatarinaMapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) in Europe’s Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) is still underdeveloped compared to the European mainland. Most of those territories are small islands for which Marine and Coastal Ecosystems (MCE) constitute a significant resource and provide important provisioning, regulating and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). Understanding the cultural dimension of ecosystems and considering the cultural benefits and values associated with them, demands methodological plurality, flexibility and creativity. This study focused on two activities related to recreational ES (recreational fishing and recreational SCUBA diving) that are particularly relevant to São Miguel Island (Archipelago of the Azores, Portugal). Stakeholders were interviewed using SeaSketch, a participatory mapping tool in which they indicated where they conduct recreational fishing and scuba diving, the relative value of those areas, in terms of preference over other areas and their willingness to relinquish them for the purpose of conservation. Responses were aggregated and represented in maps showing key areas for the provision of recreational ES around São Miguel. This approach can be used in the Azorean Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) process and other on-going conservation initiatives, to better understand the trade-offs between relevant socio-economic activities and to support negotiations between the government and groups of stakeholders.