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Green and Blue Tool for Managing Transboundary Aquatic Ecosystems

IOC-UNESCO/AQUACROSS

By IW:LEARN

December 14^th, 2018

AQUACROSS is an interdisciplinary Horizon 2020 research project supporting achievement of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 targets. AQUACROSS developed practical guidance on identifying threats to biodiversity and understanding links between ecosystems and the services they provide, as part of an integrated assessment framework for ecosystem-based management of aquatic ecosystems. This assessment framework has been put in practice in eight case studies across Europe.

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), in collaboration with regional and local governments of Andalucía (southern Spain) and the region Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (northern Morocco), has led the application of the AQUACROSS assessment framework to a pilot case study area located in the Strait of Gibraltar, at the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean located between Andalucía and Morocco (IBRM, the Reserve). The IBRM has been designated as a case study of the AQUACROSS project to showcase how the EU Biodiversity Strategy can be implemented in a transboundary context. The IBRM is home to several remarkable protected sites, high biodiversity richness and an important cultural heritage, and includes river basins, coastal, and marine areas. Agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and tourism drive the local economies of the area, all of which are highly dependent on terrestrial and aquatic resources.

The aquatic ecosystems provide a vital range of provisioning goods (such as fish), regulation and maintenance, as well as cultural services that sustain human well-being. The Reserve also presents a high potential for sustainable economic development. However, the rapid socio-economic growth and technological changes in recent time have increased the demand for water services for tourism and irrigation, leading to an overexploitation of water resources in the area.

Location map of the case study at the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean (AQUACROSS project). Credit: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, 2018.

The Reserve spans over two continents - Europe and Africa, and two seas - Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Spatial planning of aquatic ecosystems in this transboundary setting is a challenging task. Firstly, because the study area comprises about one million hectares covering three different aquatic ecosystems: freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems. Secondly, because Spain and Morocco share similar environmental characteristics, but they show markedly different socio-economic and policy contexts. Therefore, spatial planning of aquatic ecosystems in the Reserve requires a holistic approach addressing the specific ecological and social needs of the IBRM.

This case study was aimed at uncovering best practice examples of ecosystem-based management solutions for aquatic ecosystems through direct recommendations for the establishment of Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI). GBI is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural landscape elements with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services (ES). GBI emphasizes the importance of ensuring the provision of ES for human well-being while maintaining and preserving biodiversity and other ES, such as regulating and maintenance as well as cultural services. In addition, GBI is an ecosystem-based solution because it favours landscape permeability, climate change adaptation and may reduce vulnerability to weather and climate extreme events. For all these advantages provided by GBI, this spatial planning tool is being strongly promoted by European Union policies and many different GBl programmes and projects have been or are under development in almost all European Union Member States.

In the case study at the IBRM, we collected diverse spatially explicit data (activities and pressures, ecosystem condition, ecosystem services, biodiversity, priority areas to be restored) plus stakeholder input to understand the social and ecological system and design a multifunctional network of areas. The design of the GBI network, involving municipalities in northern Morocco and southern Spain, included workshops and interviews with various local stakeholders at different stages of the design process, in order to determine the conservation targets and the management objectives desired. Through the GBI design, we identified main management zones at the IBRM and surroundings that address different conservation, restoration and exploitation objectives. The optimal spatial arrangement of the multiple management zones minimizes the potential conflicts among these different goals, while ensuring connectivity across the network. IOC-UNESCO has also developed an online storytelling tool for the dissemination of the key case study results among general public.

Besides the development of this case study, within the AQUACROSS project framework, IOC-UNESCO was also responsible for developing an information platform on aquatic ecosystems aimed to provide a single point access to both internal and external data produced within the development of the AQUACROSS case studies. This platform facilitates sharing of data and map products of AQUACROSS among scientists and technicians. This was achieved by building a standard based shared information system which adheres to both the INSPIRE Directive and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) principles. AQUACROSS related products can be downloaded at: http://dataportal.aquacross.eu/.

Local policymakers in Spain and Morocco highly valued the map products and the storytelling tool produced in the case study. Indeed, in Andalucía the local policymakers will deploy this methodology not only in the location of the case study, but also in other areas. In addition, our approach may also help guide future applications of GBI in transboundary contexts.

For more information on this project, please contact Alejandro Iglesias Campos.

Footnotes

Header: Best Green and Blue Infrastructure solution in terms of costs and connectivity. Credit: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, 2018.

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FootNotes

Header: Best Green and Blue Infrastructure solution in terms of costs and connectivity. Credit: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, 2018.