Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Identification and Management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): A Review

The article discusses the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in marine conservation, specifically in relation to the protection of marine ecosystems and the definition of marine protected areas (MPAs). It highlights the threats that marine ecosystems face due to human activities and emphasizes the importance of effective management and conservation efforts. By improving data gathering, processing, monitoring, and analysis, artificial intelligence, and automation, they can revolutionize marine research. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of AI and automation in marine conservation responsibly and ethically. In order to integrate these technologies into decision-making processes, stakeholders and marine conservation professionals must collaborate. Through the use of artificial intelligence and automation, marine conservation efforts can be transformed by establishing new methods of collecting and analyzing data, making informed decisions, and managing marine ecosystems.

Satellite monitoring of land-use and land-cover changes in northern Togo protected areas

Remote-sensing data for protected areas in northern Togo, obtained in three different years （2007, 2000, and 1987）, were used to assess and map changes in land cover and land use for this drought prone zone. The normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） was applied to the images to map changes in vegetation. An unsupervised classification, followed by classes recoding, filtering, identifications, area computing and post-classification process were applied to the composite of the three years of NDVI images. Maximum likelihood classification was applied to the 2007 image （ETM＋2007） using a supervised classification process. Seven vegetation classes were defined from training data sets. The seven classes included the following biomes： riparian forest, dry forest, flooded vegetation, wooded savanna, fallows, parkland, and water. For these classes, the overall accuracy and the overall kappa statistic for the classi- fied map were 72.5% and 0.67, respectively. Data analyses indicated a great change in land resources; especially between 1987 and 2000 proba- bly due to the impact of democratization process social, economic, and political disorder from 1990. Wide-scale loss of vegetation occurred during this period. However, areas of vegetation clearing and regrowth were more visible between 2000 and 2007. The main source of confusion in the contingency matrix was due to heterogeneity within certain classes. It could also be due to spectral homogeneity among the classes. This research provides a baseline for future ecological landscape research and for the next management program in the area.

Assessment and impact of anthropogenic disturbances in protected areas of northern Togo

These days, human activities in the savanna and the remaining dry and riparian forests of the Sudanian ecoregions continue to have their impact. These anthropogenic practices are still the main cause of disturbances in these areas. In order to investigate and assess the importance of these disturbances, caused by people bordering on protected areas and to determine the relation between these activities and the environment in which they are carried out, 220 samples were selected in the three main protected areas of northern Togo. The investigation was mainly qualitative, considering the floristic sampling of this drought area; any anthropogenic activities observed were recorded. A simple investigative questionnaire about the activities of rural people in the reserved areas was distributed to individuals encountered in the study area. Each sample in the investigation ended with a site description of its ecologi- cal characterization, i.e., soil features, topography, fauna footprints, dominant plant species and GPS position; we also took photo- graphs of the site. Data processing was entirely based on descriptive statistics and a factor analysis. The results show that eight kinds of human activities, i.e., the use of pastures, tree cutting, bush fires, charcoal production, harvesting of plant material, fanning, honey harvesting and hunting, were noted to be serious disturbances to the integrity of the ecosystems. Among these disturbances, three are recurrent in all the sampled areas of which the use of pastures accounts for 31.88%, tree cutting for 30.35% and bush fires for 30.13%. Fire and pasture disturbances are closely linked and are responsible for the current features of the savanna area of the region. Tree cutting is more a direct function of the need for the production of wood fuel, generally used by city populations. Hunting, farm- ing and honey production are of lesser importance in the area and therefore, do not pose a significantly negative effect on the growth of fauna and flora. Knowledge of these disturbances in the context of requalification and a renewed demarcation of protected areas in Togo is essential for their sustainable management.

Marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean:status and future

Marine protected areas(MPAs) in the Southern Ocean are receiving more and more global attention. The Southern Ocean is one of the world’s last regions not yet seriously impacted by human activities, signifying its ecological importance and unique value for scientific research. In response to climate change and growing commercial fishing interests in the Southern Ocean and their impacts on the marine ecosystem, the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources(CCAMLR) is reacting to growing international pressure to establish a system of MPAs in the Southern Ocean to manage fisheries and conserve vital species—such as the keystone resource Antarctic krill and the dominant fish predator Antarctic toothfish—as well as to protect whole ecosystems. This review summarizes progress in the establishment of MPAs in the Southern Ocean by focusing on several major topics:(1) the current status of MPAs in the Southern Ocean;(2) the purpose and objective of MPAs in the Southern Ocean;(3) a short description of the largest high-sea MPA(the Ross Sea MPA);(4) ecological observation and monitoring for the planned MPAs in the Southern Ocean; and(5) the importance of international cooperation in the design, establishment and future management of MPAs in the Southern Ocean.

Identity Dynamics and Conflict in Collaborative Processes: The Case of Participatory Management of Protected Areas in Benin

The research reported in this paper investigated the role of identity construction in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the participatory management of protected areas in Benin. The study shows that social identity salience was dynamic and played an important role in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the studied cases. Conflicts emerged when identities became salient as a result of the stake-holders’ framing of contextual factors as a threat to their identity. The conflicts escalated when decisions and actions undertaken in the management process were framed as top-down and as posing a threat to the identities of the stakeholders. We conclude that, although the government in the management of the protected areas introduced participation, unilateral decisions taken about the way the conflicts should be managed caused disappointment and distrust, and thus led to a greater distance between the parties involved and to conflict escalation.

Monitoring hawksbill turtle nesting sites in some protected areas from the Persian Gulf

Iranian nesting populations of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle(Eretmochelys imbricate) are some of the most important in the Indian Ocean. In this study, four of the most important hawksbill nesting grounds in the Persian Gulf, situated within three Iranian marine protected areas, were surveyed during nesting season,including Nakhiloo, Ommolgorm and Kharko Islands and the mainland beaches of the Naiband Marine-Coastal National Park(NMCNP). We present GIS maps of these key nesting grounds and describe sand texture of key nesting zones, along with conservation recommendations. About 9.2(28.3%) out of 32.5 km of all shores surveyed in this study were used by nesting hawksbill turtles follows: Nakhiloo: 1.4 km(52% of potential nesting area);Ommolgorm: 1.94 km(40%);Kharko: 3.4 km(28%), and NMCNP: 2.46 km(18.9%). The average nesting density was calculated as 131 nests/km at Nakhiloo, 76 nests/km at Ommolgorm, 7 nests/km at Kharko, and 15 nests per km at NMCNP. Highest nesting density was observed in Nakhiloo and Ommolgorm. It is thought that high hawksbill nesting density in these islands seems likely a result of limiting adequate nesting shores rather than the size of population, and also low density in Kharko and NMCNP more related to past and current pressures and low population density. With the exception of Ommolgorm Island, sands at the nesting grounds were well sorted.Grain size indicated that female hawksbill turtles in the Iranian Persian Gulf nest in sands that are generally mixed, with mean grain size ranging from coarse sands(0.4Φ;~0.5–1 mm) to fine sands(2Φ;~0.25 mm). We provide and discuss conservation recommendations and suggestions for future.

Defence force activities in marine protected areas:environmental management of Shoalwater Bay Training Area,Queensland,Australia

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force （ADF） is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area （SWBTA） as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park （GBRMP）, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area （GBRWHA）, and abutting Queensland＇s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System （EMS） is widely used by the ADE This paper exanlines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber （TS） exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.

A comparison of the management models of protected areas between China and the southern Africa region

A comparison of the management models of protected areas between China and the African south region allows reading and evaluating the similarities and differences in the use of management model as a management tool for protected areas and specifi- cally some positive and negative features of the management approaches in these two regions. Previous to this study it verified the designation of protected areas as increasing at a faster rate than ever before, comparatively much faster now in China than southern Africa regions. With the aim of evaluating similarities and differences in the use of management model as a management tool for pro- tected areas in China and southern Africa Region, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Qualitative data were mainly from policy documents, scientific articles and magazine reports, whereas quantitative （secondary data） statistical data from Interna- tional Union for Conservation of Nature Resources （IUCN） and World Database on Protected Areas （WDPA）. In view of the data sources above, the study found that in China all the protected areas are state owned whilst in southern Africa regions there are some protected areas that are privately owned; also that the models or typology of governance applied are successful for the fact that they both combine co-management or collaborative management, community-conserved areas and private protected areas that are subject to greater success and can help design planning and management than those who use exclusively government management. To this, the study concluded that the use of management model is influenced by the type of governance a country applies to its reserved areas.

A bibliometric analysis of ecotourism:A safeguard strategy in protected areas

Ecotourism projects are mostly implemented in naturally fragile ecosystems as a savior of nature,culture,and indigenous people.This paper aims to make quantitative study of ecotourism in protected areas by using bibliometric analysis.VOSviewer,a popular bibliometric software,was used to analyze as many as 1182 research articles published from 2002 to 2020.Those articles were collected from the Scopus database.The study measured three distinct types of bibliometric indicators(quantity,quality,and structural indicators)to analyze the published articles scientifically.The analysis uncovers ecotourism research in protected areas as an emerging and predominant field of research with a sound growth in annual publications and citations.Importantly,the majority of ecotourism research articles are published in the United States,the United Kingdom,Australia,South Africa,Canada,and China.Nevertheless,ecotourism as a relevant research theme of is getting due importance in African and Asian countries for two key reasons:(1)wildlife and tribal populations,and(2)uncontaminated ecology and environment of ecotourism sites.Further,the main research themes of articles in the field of ecotourism in protected areas are broadly focused on conservation,visitor management,and community.Our findings reveal that controversial issues surrounding ecotourism and its relationship to protected areas,dominated by human-wildlife conflict,gender,and climate change,are attracting the attention of researchers worldwide.

Protected Areas, Subsistence Farming Systems and Nature Conservation

The preservation of the traditional subsistence farming systems and the conservation of natural values （habitats, fauna and flora）, in articulation with local development, was the key issues in this paper. The farmers have been able to manage the systems so as to cope with adverse conditions, but their future is quite uncertain. The methodology included： （1） field observation visits and cartographic information analysis of land use; （2） structured interviews with animal production and agro-forestry specialists; and （3） meetings with the participation of stakeholders. The paper concludes that depopulation is responsible for the increasing decline of agriculture and livestock. The decrease in agricultural activity in general and the consequent practices and traditional systems of agriculture causes changes in the landscape and has negative effects on nature conservation and biodiversity. Thus, we believe that the preservation and development of traditional economic activities linked to agriculture, agro-forestry and food processing are essential to maintain the typical landscape and to preserve natural values of Montemuro Site. The paper shows that in mountain areas, particularly those classified as nature network sites, farming, economic development and nature conservation are not antagonistic objectives.

Governance of Marine Protected Areas： An Approach Using Public Participation Geographic Information Systems--The MARGov Project

The MARGov Project consisted in strengthening the interaction among the Professor Luiz Saldanha Marine Park stakeholders, and to collaboratively construct, with social and institutional actors, a governance model for the Marine Park, located in the municipality of Sesimbra （Portugal）. To pursue this goal, a PPGIS （public participation geographic information system） was developed, allowing the interaction, discussion and public participation of the stakeholders and actors involved. This PPGIS emerged as a crowdsourcing tool, with the purpose of assisting the georeferenced contributes from the local users of the Marine Park, regarding several relevant subjects, such as pollution, economic activities, opportunities and threats to the Marine Park, providing visual, analytical, and demonstrative qualities.

Research on the sustainable development of ecotourism in protected areas:a review

Due to the unique function of protected areas in species and nature resources conservation,sustainability has become the primary consideration in the development of ecotourism in protected areas.This paper focuses on this issue,and reviews the current literatures in this field,tries to give a comprehensive review which can also be organized in logical sense,classifies three major paradigms about the current research:research on the development of ecotourism in protected areas,research on the external indicators which affect the sustainability of ecotourism in protected areas,researches on the assessment of sustainability of ecotourism in protected areas,and finally points out that the further study in this field must be carried out by inter-disciplines,such as cultural economics and ecological economics.

Spatial Analysis of Federal Protected Areas and Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in Brazil

This study presents a spatial analysis of priority areas for biodiversity conservation (PABCs) in Brazil and their coverage by federal protected areas as an indicator of the level of protection afforded to biodiversity in the country and the convergence of environmental protection policies in the sphere of federal government. Georeferenced data were processed using a geographic information system, enabling the calculation of areas, analyses of superimpositions, localizations, and the obtainment of other information using spatial features manipulated in this system. A comparative analysis is done of the PABCs mapped in two periods (2003 and 2007) to ascertain the evolution of this public policy instrument in detecting environmental priorities in protected areas. The improved coverage of PABCs by protected areas in the more recent mapping indicates a good convergence of environmental policies, which are enhanced by technical improvements to mapping procedures and methods for identifying such areas. As a result, the priority areas for biodiversity conservation could become a protected area regulated and recognized by the federal government.

A journey towards shared governance: status and prospects for collaborative management in the protected areas of Bangladesh

Establishment of Protected Areas （PAs）, in the face of rapid deforestation, forest degradation and climate change has been one of the key efforts in conservation of biodiversity worldwide in recent times. While Bangladesh has gained a degree of prominence in the world for its successful social forestry programs, the concept of collaborative pro- tected area management is rather new in the country, initiated in 2004 by the Bangladesh Forest Department in five PAs with financial assistance from USAID. Based on empirical evidence from three of the pilot PAs, we examined the achievements and associated challenges and prospects for co-management. Our fieldwork revealed a number of challenges faced by co-management institutions： （1） institutions were dominated by the elite group, overshadowing the voice of the community people; （2） mutual trust and collective performance are key to good governance but had not taken root in the PAs; （3） encroachment onto forest land and subsequent conversion to agriculture remained a serious problem that discouraged forest-dependent people from participating actively in co-management initiatives; （4） legal provisions （including acts, rules and policies） were not clearly and adequately disseminated and understood at the community level; （5） there remained a degree of ambiguity regarding the roles and responsibilities of forest department （FD） and co-management committees （CMC） in field operations, and this was not enhancing transparency and accountability of the overall initiative; （6） the long-term sustainability of co-management institutions was another major concern, as the local intuitional structure was still in a nascent stage, and provisioning of resources （either internally or externally） remained somewhat uncertain. We offer recommendations for improve- ment.

Evaluation of Ecological Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Northwest China

Protected areas(PAs) have experienced explosive growth in Northwest China over the last three decades, but their effectiveness in representing regional ecological system diversity has not attracted considerable attention. Low effectiveness would exacerbate the conservation-development conflicts, particularly those that arise as a result of the Great Western Development Strategy(GWDS). Thus, an assessment of the effectiveness of the PA network has become quite important. We proposed natural vegetation communities to represent regional ecological system diversities, and proposed Global 200 Priority Ecoregions, Important Bird Areas, and ecosystem function regions to represent important conservation areas. To determine their effectiveness, we studied the extent to which ecological system diversities and important conservation areas are represented by the existing 96 PAs. Our results indicated that the total coverage of vegetation communities in PAs in Northwest China is not sufficiently comprehensive. As the PA system has expanded, the growth in the total area of the PAs has been greater than that of their vegetation community richness. While most of the important conservation areas are covered by PAs, some regions have not yet reached the 10% threshold; further, PAs are distributed unevenly and conservation gaps remain in the region. Therefore, these regions should receive more attention when planning new PAs. It is vital that more biodiversity datasets and assessment of ecosystem function regions are integrated in order to provide a basis for the government to formulate appropriate protection and development strategies.

An evaluation of central Iran’s protected areas under different climate change scenarios (A Case on Markazi and Hamedan provinces)

Global climate change poses a new challenge for species and can even push some species toward an extinction vortex. The most affected organisms are those with narrow tolerance to the climatic factors but many large mammals such as ungulates with a wider ecological niche are also being affected indirectly. Our research mainly used wild sheep in central Iran as a model species to explore how the suitable habitats will change under different climatic scenarios and to determine if current borders of protected areas will adequately protect habitat requirements. To create habitat models we used animal-vehicle collision points as an input for species presence data. We ran habitat models using Max Ent modeling approach under different climatic scenarios of the past, present and future(under the climatic scenarios for minimum(RCP2.6) and maximum(RCP8.5) CO2 concentration trajectories). We tried to estimate the overlap and the width of the ecological niche using relevant metrics. In order to analyze the effectiveness of the protected areas, suitable maps were concerted to binary maps using True Skill Statistic(TSS) threshold and measured the similarity of the binary maps for each scenario using Kappa index. In order to assess the competence of the present protected areas boundary in covering the distribution of species, two different scenarios were employed, which are ensemble scenario 1: an ensemble of the binary maps of the species distribution in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP2.6;and ensemble scenario 2: an ensemble of binary suitability maps in Mid-Holocene, present, and RCP8.5. Then, the borders of modeled habitats with the boundaries of 23 existing protected areas in two central provinces in Iran were compared. The predicted species distribution under scenario 1(RCP2.6) was mostly similar to its current distribution(Kappa = 0.53) while the output model under scenario 2(RCP8.5) indicated a decline in the species distribution range. Under the first ensemble scenario, current borders of the protected areas in Hamedan province showed better efficiency to cover the model species distribution range. Analyzing Max Ent spatial models under the second climatic scenario suggested that protected areas in both Markazi and Hamedan provinces will not cover "high suitability" areas in the future. Modeling the efficiency of the current protected areas under predicted future climatic scenarios can help the related authorities to plan conservation activities more efficiently.

Spatial Pattern and Development of Protected Areas in the North-south Transitional Zone of China

The north-south transitional zone in China mainly consists of the Qinling-Daba Mountains. It is the most important West-East geo-ecological space in China, containing protected areas vital for biodiversity conservation and ecological security of China. The protection and rational development of its natural habitat is of great significance to China’s ecological security and integration of protected areas based on mountain forest ecosystems on a global scale. In this study, five important types of protected areas in the transitional zone were selected, and their spatial patterns were analysed. Spatial analysis methods, such as kernel density estimation and accessibility analysis, were employed for both point and areal data, and focused on four aspects: land use scale, shift in the centre of gravity, spatial agglomeration, and accessibility. In addition, policy background and evolution of spatial and temporal characteristics of the protected area system in the transitional zone from 1963 to 2017 were also examined. We analysed the characteristics and geographical significance of the West-east corridor using the spatial pattern of the protected area system from the perspective of ecological and economic spaces. We focused on spatial shape, type intersection, and key areas to analyse the spatial overlap of the protected areas. Protected area establishment was divided into three stages: initial(1956–1980), rapid development(1981–2013), and national park transformation(2014–present). These stages reflected the change in the concept of ‘simple protection—sustainable use—integration and upgrade’ for protected areas of China. The spatial centre of gravity of the protection zone system was located in the west Qinling-Daba Mountains, and its high-density core exhibited a relatively stable N-shaped structure composed of four gathering areas. Affected by factors such as geographic environment and socio-economic development density, the average access time for protected areas was high(1.56 h);wetland parks and scenic areas are located closer to the city centre. As the West-east corridor in the transitional zone extends from west to east, there is a clear spatial dislocation between the development of protected areas and the intensity of human activities. During development, differentiated goal orientation should be adopted based on the idea of zoning and classified governance. With the advancement of the construction of protected areas, the spatial overlap of protected areas in the transition zone has become more prominent. At present, the spatially overlapped protected areas in the transitional zone remain prominent, with inclusion overlap being the most common, and forest parks exhibiting the highest probability of overlap with other protected areas, we should focus on in the integration process of the corridor-type ecological space based on the mountain forest ecosystem.

Income and managing problems of the protected areas in China

In 2000, the authors collected a great quantity of relevant data by investigating more than 50 nature reserves. Based on the analysis of development and management situation of the protected areas in China, the main problems were put forward, such as, no unified management for income and managing activities, lack of special guideline and effective supervision, lack of income and investment, investing financial difference in different provinces. All these problems caused the lack of funds for construction, as well as the damage of resources and environment. Furthermore the conserving activities have to transmit to the profits in many protected areas. Combined with these problems, the primary solution programmers also were put forward.

Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica

A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean,which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent.Despite this,there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S.Here we provide valuable information about the presence of plastic debris in Byers Peninsula,Livingston Island,South Shetland Islands,an Antarctic Specially Protected Area(ASPA)and a hotspot for biodiversity.A total of 129 locations with between 1 and 5 items were recorded among the 3 survey sites on Byers Peninsula.Most of the observed items are likely to derive from fishing and local sources such as tourism and research activities.We discuss the potential impacts of their presence on local fauna and some of the consequences on the Antarctic ecosystem.From this survey of plastic accumulation in an ASPA,we propose the implementation of mitigation strategies,such as systematic monitoring of the abundance and distribution of plastic waste,in order to identify trends in marine debris and control the levels of plastic pollution in the Maritime Antarctic region.

The Extent and Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Russian Federation

To tackle environmental challenges and in particular,the problems associated with the high demand for forests and resources,the consequence of which is the degradation of ecological systems,Russia has developed the biggest network of specially protected natural areas in the world.Although the scale of SPNA may look impressive,a recent comprehensive study of the period from 2001 to 2018 brought the spotlight on protected areas in Russia experiencing significant tree loss annually.Since Russia is confronting unprecedented fires that break records every year,the problem of preserving rare animal and plant species,their habitats,and natural ecosystems is acute.This paper is intended to assess the extent and effectiveness of SPNAs with regard to wilderness conservation in the Russian Federation based on the latest data;the main focus being on the period of 2014—2019,before and after the launch of the environmental safety strategies,along with additional analysis of available data for the following year of 2020.With due consideration of unique geographical,economic,and socio-cultural circumstances,as well as historical background and legislative reality of SPNAs in Russia,we have conducted a statistical analysis of data from the official annual reports from the Federal State Statistics Service on SPNAs by territories and significance,expenditures on maintenance and ecotourism,followed by RGB analysis of satellite imagery via means of GIS software for visualization of obtained data and further analytics.Despite the growth of the SPNA network in Russia,resulting in an astonishing 2402 Mha in 2020,an estimated 4 Mha of tree loss accounted for SPNAs over the period of 2014—2019,and 134 Mha in 2020 alone.Our findings indicate a need for the application of a comprehensive GIS approach for further development and effective management of the SPNA network in Russia.Furthermore,the results include recommendations on legislative changes,engagement of locals in SPNA protection,and popularization of ecotourism,all of which can be valuable for policymakers and SPNA development.