Identification of priority conservation actions in marine protected areas: Using a causal networks approach

Multiple steps are required to ensure compliance between Management of Marine Protected Areas in the Coastal Zone (MPACZ), and the objectives they were created for. Due to limited financial resources, there is an emerging necessity to identify priority actions that impact efficiently in the conservation objectives of the protected area. A simplified causal network analysis of the environmental problems of MPACZ is proposed in this paper as a tool for identifying those priority actions. This paper shows that management of an MPACZ is a complex task influenced by the origin and spatial location of the causes of environmental issues affecting it; the example case is the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park in Mexico. Through the identification of 17 environmental problems and 50 causes that generate them, it was found that environmental impacts within a protected area may be due to many causes, whether human or natural, and that the choice of priority actions should be made considering causal relationships between them to achieve efficient use of available financial resources.

► A Causal Network Approach was used for a MPA environmental problems analysis.
► Environmental problems could be originated by several both human and natural causes.
► Spatial ubication and origin of causes contribute to management complexity.
► The causal network approach can be useful to assign actions and funds for MPA conservation.