title: Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature.
abstract: Recent calls for ocean planning envision informed management of social and ecological systems to sustain delivery of ecosystem services to people. However, until now, no coastal and marine planning process has applied an ecosystem-services framework to understand how human activities affect the flow of benefits, to create scenarios, and to design a management plan. We developed models that quantify services provided by corals, mangroves, and seagrasses. We used these models within an extensive engagement process to design a national spatial plan for Belize's coastal zone. Through iteration of modeling and stakeholder engagement, we developed a preferred plan, currently under formal consideration by the Belizean government. Our results suggest that the preferred plan will lead to greater returns from coastal protection and tourism than outcomes from scenarios oriented toward achieving either conservation or development goals. The plan will also reduce impacts to coastal habitat and increase revenues from lobster fishing relative to current management. By accounting for spatial variation in the impacts of coastal and ocean activities on benefits that ecosystems provide to people, our models allowed stakeholders and policymakers to refine zones of human use. The final version of the preferred plan improved expected coastal protection by >25% and more than doubled the revenue from fishing, compared with earlier versions based on stakeholder preferences alone. Including outcomes in terms of ecosystem-service supply and value allowed for explicit consideration of multiple benefits from oceans and coasts that typically are evaluated separately in management decisions.
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; karkema@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Katie K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Arkema
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020;
authors.forename: Gregory M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Verutes
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
authors.forename: Spencer A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Belize City, Belize; and.
authors.forename: Chantalle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clarke-Samuels
authors.affiliation: Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Belize City, Belize; and.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosado
authors.affiliation: Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Belize City, Belize; and.
authors.forename: Maritza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canto
authors.affiliation: World Wildlife Fund-US, Washington, DC 20037-1193.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruckelshaus
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020;
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guannel
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
authors.forename: Jodie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toft
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020;
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faries
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Silver
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020;
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
authors.forename: Anne D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Guerry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001531:Belize; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005398:Fisheries; D006801:Humans; D008386:Marine Biology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D033521:Palinuridae; D011640:Public Policy; D011998:Recreation
keywords: Belize; InVEST; coastal and marine spatial planning; ecosystem services; integrated coastal zone management