Data from: Global and regional priorities for marine biodiversity protection

The ocean holds much of the planet's biodiversity, yet < 4% of the ocean is within protected areas. On land, the protecting of areas with low biodiversity and under little threat, rather than biodiversity hotspots, is a well-known problem. Prudence suggests that we not repeat this pattern in the ocean. Here we assessed patterns of global marine biodiversity by evaluating the protections of 4352 species for which geographic ranges are known, and mapping priority areas using an index that considers species vulnerability, coverage by marine protected areas (MPAs), and human impacts. Species have, on average, only 3.6% of their range protected. Moreover, species of conservation concern (threatened, small-ranged, and data deficient) have less protection than species on average. Only 5 nations currently protect 10% or more of their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as strict Marine Reserves (IUCN category I–IV) in accord with the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. One nation by itself, Australia, accounts for 65% of the global area of Marine Reserves. The Coral Triangle is the clear and dominant global priority for biodiversity, but we identify additional global and regional priorities in each ocean basin. As an example, we show that for the United States, the Marianas and Samoan Islands are the top marine conservation priorities. Despite recent advances, the world has yet to protect most of the area and species that need it. Where to protect those species, however, is increasingly clear.海洋承载着地球上绝大多数的生物多样性，但目前仅有不到4%的海洋区域被纳入保护地。陆地上，当前的保护实践往往优先选择低生物多样性、受威胁程度较低的区域，而非生物多样性热点地区，这一问题早已广为人知。秉持审慎原则，我们不应在海洋保护领域重蹈这一覆辙。本研究通过评估4352种已知地理分布范围的海洋物种的保护现状，结合物种脆弱性、海洋保护区（Marine Protected Areas, MPAs）覆盖情况以及人类活动影响等指标划定优先保护区域，以此分析全球海洋生物多样性的保护格局。研究结果显示，物种的平均保护范围仅占其分布区的3.6%。此外，需重点保护的物种（受威胁物种、分布范围狭窄物种以及数据缺乏物种）的保护程度甚至低于全球平均水平。目前仅有5个国家将其专属经济区（Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ）中10%及以上的区域划定为符合国际自然保护联盟（International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN）类别I–IV标准的严格海洋保护区，达成2020年爱知生物多样性目标（Aichi Biodiversity Targets）。仅澳大利亚一国的海洋保护区面积就占全球总量的65%。珊瑚三角区无疑是全球最核心的生物多样性优先保护区域，本研究同时在每个大洋海盆中识别出了额外的全球及区域级优先保护区域。举例而言，美国的首要海洋保护优先区域为马里亚纳群岛与萨摩亚群岛。尽管近年来海洋保护领域取得了一定进展，但全球仍未完成对多数亟需保护的海域与物种的保护工作。不过，如何划定这些亟需保护物种的栖息区域，如今已愈发清晰。