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Abstract
Tropical estuaries are one of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet because of the number of ecosystem services they provide. The increasing anthropogenic pressure to which these estuaries are subject has caused a reduction in their natural capital stock. Therefore, the application of a pragmatic and rational ecosystem-based management approach to sustainably manage the multiple ecosystem services provided by this ecosystem is necessary. The aim of our study is to present an approach that combines prospective scenarios with habitat-based perspective to assess the supply capacity of ecosystem services, plus determine the impact of protected areas in an urbanized tropical estuary. The current situation and two scenarios were generated to evaluate the capacity of habitats to supply ecosystem services. This type of assessment will allow the decision makers to visualize the effect of their choices or the occurrence of events which might produce significant changes in the estuary. Thus, over time, measures can be taken to sustain the supply of ecosystem services. We determined that the establishment of protected areas have a positive impact; however, the effect is not the same for all of them. Consequently, indicating that actions such as community participation, research, education, management planning and infrastructure development must accompany the development of a protected area.
Highlights
Estuaries are complex transitional environments [1] as they are the interface between ocean and river environments and marine and terrestrial systems
The aim of our study is to present an approach that combines prospective scenarios with habitat-based perspective to assess the supply capacity of ecosystem services, plus determine the impact of protected areas in an urbanized tropical estuary
The exchange of information and criteria among participants allowed to reach a better understanding of the problems that exist in the environment and the possible solutions. This approach enables making a general assessment of the system to study and identify hot-spots so that, subsequently, it can assess them with greater detail using other methods such as the process-based one. This approach allowed us to determine that the establishment of protected areas (PAs) has a positive impact on maintaining the supply of ecosystem services
Summary
Estuaries are complex transitional environments [1] as they are the interface between ocean and river environments and marine and terrestrial systems. Estuaries house important habitats such as mangrove forests and seagrass beds [4], which means they are among the most productive and valuable ecosystems on the planet due to the quantity and quality of ecosystem services (ESs) which they supply [5,6]. Their capacity to supply well-being to humans has generated adverse effects.
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