Marine conservation planning in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Overfishing, pollution, coastal development and climate change threaten marine biodiversity globally and compromise the services that marine ecosystems provide. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) provides a framework to identify areas where actions can be effective in addressing these threats, while minimizing the costs of interventions. This study investigated the application of SCP in the Gulf of California, Mexico, a marine hotspot where at least seven prioritization exercises have been undertaken. We reviewed the seven marine conservation planning exercises and undertook spatial analyses for six of them. The existence of multiple marine conservation plans in the Gulf of California highlights some of the complexities and benefits of having multiple sets of priorities.

This dataset summarizes selected elements of the seven marine planning exercises, including information about the overall prioritization approach and methods followed by planners.