Prioritizing coastal and marine areas for conservation in the Northern Persian Gulf

Abstract

Marine Protected Areas play a crucial role in safeguarding marine habitats and associated biodiversity amidst escalating environmental changes and human activities. Employing a systematic conservation prioritization method and the Marxan software algorithm, this study prioritized coastal and marine areas for conservation across the Iranian coast of the northern Persian Gulf. This study analyzed 17 conservation features, including species and habitats of interest, and compared the existing protected areas to the conservation targets set by local experts. The analysis revealed substantial gaps between the existing protected areas and the conservation targets. While some features like mangrove forests were adequately represented, many other ecologically valuable ecosystems were not sufficiently protected. The study revealed that in order to meet the low and high conservation targets, an additional area equivalent to 10.09 % (8269.47 km²) and 18.92 % (15510.26 km²) of the study region, respectively, would require protection. The results emphasize the need to expand the size of the existing marine protected areas to effectively conserve the vital marine ecosystems of the Iranian coast of the northern Persian Gulf. This study offers valuable insights to guide national policies and promote the sustainable management of sensitive marine habitats—such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, estuaries, algal beds, intertidal zones, and coastal lagoons—along with their associated key organisms that are increasingly threatened by climate change and human activities.