Abstract
Strategic, data driven conservation approaches are increasing in popularity as conservation communities gain access to better science, more computing power, and more data. High resolution geospatial data, indicating ecosystem functions and economic activity, can be very useful for any conservation expert or funding agency. A framework was developed for a data driven conservation prioritization tool and a data visualization tool. The developed tools were then implemented and tested for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal region defined by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. As a part of this tool development, priority attributes and data measures were developed for the region through 13 stakeholder charrettes with local, state, federal, and other non-profit organizations involved in land conservation. This paper presents the measures that were developed to reflect stakeholder priorities. These measures were derived from openly available geospatial and non-geospatial data sources. This database contained 19 measures, aggregated into a one km2 hexagonal grid and grouped by the overarching goals of habitat, water quality and quantity, living coastal and marine resources, community resilience, and economy. The developed measures provided useful data for a conservation planning framework in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal region.
Highlights
Act established the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Restore Council), which is responsible for implementing protection and restoration of the Gulf Coast Region (GCR) as described by their initial comprehensive plan
Project is developing a suite of three tools where users can explore a catalog of existing conservation plans and projects across the GCR (Catalog Tool) [1], evaluate and strengthen conservation proposals (Conservation Prioritization Tool), and explore areas within the GCR based on conservation priorities (Conservation Visualization Tool)
The SCA tool suite is available to individuals and organizations who are interested in maximizing conservation benefits across the GCR within an environmental, social, and economic context
Summary
In response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, the United States government authorized the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the. Restore Council’s initial comprehensive plan [1]; (2) develop tools and templates that can evaluate and strengthen existing land conservation proposals; and (3) develop spatial data layers that can be used to identify potential areas for land conservation projects. The backbone of the SCA tool suite is the geospatial database presented in this paper This geodatabase of 19 ecological and socioeconomic measures for the Gulf Coast Region of the United States was compiled to assess the ecological and socioeconomic benefits that may be associated with the protection of different landscapes. The CPT, currently in beta testing, is an online tool where users can explore and compare ecological and socioeconomic benefits of land conservation actions throughout the Gulf Coast Region (GCR) of the United States.
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