A Resilient Marine Protected Area Network Design: A First for the Arafura Timor Seas.

The Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) comprise both near pristine and highly threatened marine ecosystems. There are four littoral nations (Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Australia, and Papua New Guinea), which have independently established Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). We design the first resilient MPA network for the entire region to protect critical habitats and species by considering transboundary features (i.e., connectivity of fisheries, rare, threatened, and protected species), uses and threats (i.e., fishing and climate change). We used Geographic Information System processing to identify gaps in the regional network based on existing and proposed MPAs and Areas of Interest (AOIs: previously identified as potential new MPAs) in each country, followed by systematic conservation planning to identify new AOIs for establishing MPAs to fill these gaps. The ATS MPA Network design (301,055 km²) has been endorsed by all four countries and includes all 93 existing (265,405 km²) and proposed (6,264 km²) MPAs, 13 previously identified AOIs (14,773 km²), and seven new AOIs identified in this study (14,613 km²). Of the new AOIs, three have been incorporated in Indonesia's national MPA network plan, one is in a new MPA currently being developed in Timor-Leste, and Australia is considering two as potential areas for new MPAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]