Investing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) pays off. This is the conclusion of an investigation into the benefits of Mediterranean marine reserves for the economy and wider society, commissioned by the resultados del proyecto piloto para estudiar los beneficios que proporcionan a la economía y la sociedad las reservas marinas en el Mediterráneo, impulsado por Marilles Foundation and developed by Ecoacsain collaboration with the Balearic Center for Applied BiologyCBBA) y la consultora británica eftec.
La Reserva Marina de Interés Pesquero de Llevant de Mallorca, en Baleares, cubre 11 000 hectáreas repartidas entre competencia autonómica (5900 ha) y estatal (5100 ha). Fue creada en 2007 a petición de la Cofradía de Pescadores de Cala Rajada para mejorar el rendimiento pesquero, pero los resultados muestran que los beneficios van mucho más allá de los relacionados con la pesca:
Aniol Esteban, Director of Marilles Foundation: «Los resultados de este estudio muestran que las reservas marinas aportan múltiples beneficios a nuestra economía y sociedad. Invertir en áreas marinas protegidas sale a cuenta pero las AMP de Baleares y el resto de España sufren un grave déficit de financiación. Aunque la reserva de Llevant está dando resultados no hay que olvidar que aún está muy lejos de su potencial y que con una mejor financiación podríamos obtener un retorno de inversión muy superior. Lo mismo sucede con la gran mayoría de las AMP de Baleares, España. La salud de nuestro mar y nuestras costas es esencial para la prosperidad económica de Baleares y España. España se ha comprometido a declarar un 30% de superficie marina como AMP en 2030 y un 10% de la superficie marina bajo protección estricta. La creación de una red sólida y bien financiada AMP ha de ser una pieza clave de la recuperación económica en España. Tener más y mejores áreas marinas protegidas tendrá grandes beneficios para dos industrias estratégicas como son el turismo y la pesca. Podemos salir de la crisis post-Covid mejorando el estado de nuestra costa y nuestro mar».
David Álvarez, Executive Director of Ecoacsa: “Natural Capital Accounting provides evidence of the relationship between a marine protected area and the real economy. It is a specially useful tool to assess changes of marine areas and oceanic ecosystems over time. It offers essential data to support decision-making that results in the greater and better protection of the wealth and health of marine ecosystems, which is vital to combat biodiversity loss crisis and guarantee the provision of the necessary services that sustain blue growth, in support of the Green Deal and the European Union Recovery Plan for Europe. There will be no green growth without blue growth.”
Benjamí Reviriego, environmental consultant of CBBA: “Natural Capital Accounting is a key tool about the benefits derived from sustainable natural resources protection and management, and for integrating biodiversity into economic and policy decision-making guaranteeing that natural capital continues to provide ecosystem services to society. Its usefulness, however, strictly depends upon input data availability and particulars, whose achievement represents considerable efforts”.
Natural capital accounting is a practical framework that can help public and private actors make better decisions through a better understanding of the interaction between the economy and the environment. Specifically, it provides a systematized process to measure and report the stocks and flow of natural capital, considering both biotic resources (habitats and species) and abiotic (water, soil, atmosphere, minerals ...) and the flow of benefits that these generate (services ecosystems). The premise of natural capital accounting is that the environment is essential for society and the economy, so it has to be considered as a valuable asset that must be properly maintained and managed, and the ecosystem services that it provides are properly integrated into the national accounts systems.
To build the natural capital accounting system, Ecoacsa has relied on the Corporate Natural Capital Accounting developed for the United Kingdom Natural Capital Committee, which are aligned with the System of Environmental Economic Accounting of the United Nations (SEEA EEA, for its acronym in English), recently approved on a global scale.
The application of this accounting framework has provided knowledge and the ability to account for the economic value of the biodiversity and marine ecosystems of the Llevant MPA, as well as the relationship between these, the economy and the well-being of the residents who live and work in the area, along with the tourists who visit its coasts and enjoy its sea. This is essential in providing rigorous information that facilitates decisions, aligned with local needs and broader commitments in terms of sustainability, to the various actors with responsibility for the management of protected areas.
The Balearic Islands have a network of marine protected areas that cover up to 21.5% of the Balearic Sea. In inland waters (those under the jurisdiction of the Balearic Government) this percentage increases to 40%. It is a high percentage compared to other areas of Spain, Europe or the Mediterranean. However, only 0.16% of the Balearic Sea - 45 km2—, equivalente a la mitad de la isla de Formentera, es reserva integral y está cerrado a la pesca. Y solo una parte del área declarada como AMP cuenta con un plan de gestión. Aún así, Baleares es de las regiones españolas más avanzadas en lo que a conservación marina se refiere. La mayoría de las reservas marinas baleares están dando buenos resultados en forma de una mayor biomasa, aumento de tamaño y diversidad de peces de interés comercial y mejora del estado de especies y hábitats vulnerables; con todos los beneficios económicos que eso conlleva. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las AMP de Baleares y del resto de España rinden por debajo de su potencial porque carecen de los medios necesarios para garantizar una buena gestión, seguimiento y vigilancia. Un estudio de la Fundación Marilles realizado en 2019 calculó la inversión anual en las AMP de Baleares en unos 3 MEUR/año; y que, aunque el número de superficie protegida marina ha aumentado notablemente en los últimos años, el gasto por hectárea protegida ha disminuido en comparación. La velocidad de crecimiento de superficie marina protegida en Baleares durante los últimos 40 años ha sido 135 veces superior a la de las reservas integrales (no-take zone).
Para facilitar la réplica de estudios similares ha desarrollado una A methodological guide has been developed for the application of natural capital accounting in marine protected areas.. El documento surge con la vocación de servir de orientación a representantes de entidades públicas o privadas –administraciones locales, regionales o nacionales, universidades, organismos de investigación, ONG, actores económicos y sociales– involucrados en la gestión de AMP para que contribuyan a consolidar una gestión sostenible del capital natural marino. Así, la guía ofrece una descripción detallada de los pasos que seguir para analizar y evaluar la extensión, estado, cantidad y valor actual y en un horizonte de 60 años de los recursos naturales del AMP de Llevant, incluyendo los métodos de valoración empleados para cada tipo de servicio ecosistémico analizado, los resultados obtenidos y lecciones aprendidas.
The Fundación Marilles is a non-profit entity that works to make the Balearic Islands a world example of marine conservation. It finances local projects and organizations to improve the sea and the Balearic coast. It is open to contributions from other foundations and individual donors. Between 2018 and 2020 Marilles has invested EUR 2 million in 49 marine conservation projects in the Balearic Islands; which probably makes it the first source of private financing based in Spain for the conservation of the marine environment at the national level. Among others, Marilles has catalyzed collaborative initiatives such as the Mar Balear Report (www.informemarbalear.org); the MARE audiovisual contest (www.marebalear.org) and has established a strategic collaboration with Observadores del Mar (www.observadoresdelmar.es) to consolidate the marine citizen science program in the Balearic Islands.www.informemarbalear.org); el certamen audiovisual MARE (http://www.marebalear.org/) y ha establecido una colaboración estratégica con Observadores del Mar (www.observadoresdelmar.es) para consolidar el programa de ciencia ciudadana marina en Baleares.
Ecoacsa Reserva de Biodiversidad is a Spanish company created with the aim of disseminating, promoting and developing tools that allow natural capital valuation and biodiversity integration into business sector. Ecoacsa provides market analysis and strategic advice to incorporate environmental sustainability and natural capital conservation in decision-making, action plans and strategies at corporate and project levels. Its focus is on promoting and facilitating the transition from “business as usual” towards sustainable business models. Ecoacsa promotes Natural Capital Factory, hub Spanish of the Capitals Coalition, a global collaboration that transforms the way decisions are made by including the value provided by nature, people, and society.
El Balearic Centre for Applied Biology is a Spanish company created in 1994, which offers consulting, auditing, advisory, management and analysis services in the fields of the environment, food safety and quality control. Since its creation, it has carried out evaluation studies of the repercussions of human activities on the environment, studies on marine and terrestrial ecosystems, coastal dynamics, dispersion and dilution in the marine environment, plans for environmental monitoring of works and projects; elaboration of thematic cartographies, bathymetric studies. It develops monitoring studies in marine protected areas, in coastal water bodies, and has led several R&D projects in the field of applied biology.
Pilot Study in Balearic Islands MPA
Methodological Guide to NCA in MPAS
