Research Document - 2015/020

Marine protected area network planning in the Western Arctic Bioregion: development and use of a classification system to identify ecological units as required planning components

By R. Hodgson, K. Martin, and H. Melling

Abstract

In order to meet Canada’s obligations to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), creation of a Marine Protected Areas Network (MPAN) following UN stipulated steps is required. This paper details the completion of step two from the UN CBD, which, in short, calls for marine areas to be biogeographically classified (hereafter referred to as eco-units) reflecting the types and diversity of ecosystems. It is important to note that step one was the creation of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) and that step three will draw upon step one (biological focus) and step two (physical/habitat focus) in order to produce a set of potential MPAN sites or ‘Priority Conservation Areas’ as they are being called in Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is completing this task using its regionalized structure and 13 regional planning areas called bioregions. Here we deal with the classification of eco-units within the Western Arctic Bioregion. In this paper, we created a systematic approach to biogeographic classification based on available data, prioritization of information inputs based on use and citations in the literature, as well as results from several previous classifications by others, all combined using GIS based mapping and analysis. Scientific review of this approach was conducted to identify areas that could be affected by miss-prioritization of input data, missing information, and/or over-interpreted information, as well as to gain general scientific consensus on the overall nature and value of the resulting eco-unit areas. In all, eighteen eco-units were classified for the Western Arctic Bioregion, reflecting the scale of the exercise and the number of EBSAs created previously for this bioregion.

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