A comprehensive stacked map to help identify compatible and conflicting uses of the maritime space in the Illas Atlánticas de Galicia National Park.

Increasing consensus exists on the key role of inclusive participatory approaches to be able to reach global conservation goals. Meeting the Convention of Biological Diversity’s 30 by 30 commitment, which advocates for at least 30% of marine areas to be protected, including a fully protected 10%, will entail the expansion and creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) all over the world. However, current MPAs and potential MPA networks continue to face limitations for their conservation roles due to stakeholder conflicts, policy will and capacity. In this work we address these challenges through a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to support the co-creation of an updated and ecologically effective management plan for the Atlantic Islands of Galicia (Illas Atlánticas) National Park. The Illas Atlánticas is a network of four archipelagos declared a maritime-terrestrial national park in 2002 and as MPA under the OSPAR convention in 2008. The existing management plan, effective since 2018, was established to regulate activities within the park through designated protection zones. Currently, only 0.44% of the MPA consists of no-take areas, bur only on the seafloor, while the majority remains partially protected, allowing artisanal fishing, tourism, diving and other recreative activities. This limited protection has scope to contribute to increased conservation area. Recognizing that over 60% of the region’s livelihoods are linked to the fishing sector and that tourism and local community interests also significantly impact the MPA, we explore to what extent an inclusive stakeholder identification and planning process can balance conservation and socio-economic interests.

This participatory process includes the identification and interviewing of key stakeholders, such as artisanal and industrial fishers, tourist organizations, local communities, and environmental groups, ensuring an inclusive representation in management decision-making. Then, a mapping of stakeholder priorities and challenges under marine conservation goals, where we aimed at evaluating the impacts of existing and future ocean governance goals,  synthesizing data on stakeholder preferences to enable the identification of high-priority conservation areas. Our preliminary results delivered a multilayered, interactive stacked map that captures both stakeholder usage patterns and scientifically prioritized conservation areas within the Illas Atlánticas that highlighted both compatible and conflicting uses of the maritime space.

By comparing stakeholder insights with current management zones, we pinpointed several key areas suited for stricter protection. Therefore, inclusive participatory approaches serve as a comprehensive approach, leading to mapping outputs for conservation that not only illustrate the distribution of current marine uses but also act as a decision-support system for establishing strictly protected areas in the MPA. The findings pave the way for a refined management plan, combining stakeholder insights with empirical conservation needs to advance the MPA’s alignment with the international Agenda, and serve as an experience that can contribute to other MPA establishment and zonation.