title: Integrating regional conservation priorities for multiple objectives into national policy.
abstract: Multinational conservation initiatives that prioritize investment across a region invariably navigate trade-offs among multiple objectives. It seems logical to focus where several objectives can be achieved efficiently, but such multi-objective hotspots may be ecologically inappropriate, or politically inequitable. Here we devise a framework to facilitate a regionally cohesive set of marine-protected areas driven by national preferences and supported by quantitative conservation prioritization analyses, and illustrate it using the Coral Triangle Initiative. We identify areas important for achieving six objectives to address ecosystem representation, threatened fauna, connectivity and climate change. We expose trade-offs between areas that contribute substantially to several objectives and those meeting one or two objectives extremely well. Hence there are two strategies to guide countries choosing to implement regional goals nationally: multi-objective hotspots and complementary sets of single-objective priorities. This novel framework is applicable to any multilateral or global initiative seeking to apply quantitative information in decision making.
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beger
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Treml
authors.affiliation: Indo-Pacific Division, The Nature Conservancy, 245 Riverside Drive, West End, Queensland 4101, Australia.
authors.forename: Alison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Indo-Pacific Division, The Nature Conservancy, 923 Nu'uanu Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-1539, USA.
authors.forename: Alan T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Carissa J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mumby
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.|Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY England, UK.
authors.forename: Hugh P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Possingham
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D003657:Decision Making; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D058735:Environmental Policy; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making