Dr Natali Lazzari1,2,3, Dr Jose A. Sanabria-Fernandez1,4,2, Dr Sebastian Villasante2
1University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2University of Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain, 3National Center for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris, CRIOBE, Paris, France, 4Sorbonne Université – iEES, Paris, France
Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history, undermining ecosystem functioning and negatively impacting people’s quality of life. The social-ecological vulnerability framework emerged as a promising tool for identifying those highly vulnerable areas where management interventions need to be prioritized to avoid biodiversity and social regime shifts. However, when designing and implementing conservation measures neglect the livelihoods of local communities, fail to involve relevant stakeholders, or promote an unfair distribution of benefits and burdens, management interventions become sources of social inequity. This social inequity leads to a lack of support for conservation and, thus, to inefficient protection. Although the combined effect of high social-ecological vulnerability and low social equity in conservation may be catastrophic for future generations, this interaction remains unexplored. This study aims to understand whether and how social-ecological vulnerability and social equity in conservation are related. To do so, we will calculate the social-ecological vulnerability index and develop a social equity index of the Spanish coastline. To compute the social equity index, we will integrate five elements of social equity in conservation, i.e., recognition, procedures, distribution, management, and environment of those marine management interventions already implemented in Spain. Finally, we will use modelling techniques to investigate the relationship between social-ecological vulnerability and social equity in conservation. By unveiling vulnerability-equity associations, this study will provide critical social-ecological knowledge in temperate coastal systems needed to foster a more sustainable and equitable relationship with the oceans.
Biography:
Dr. Natali Lazzari is a Margarita Salas postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Barcelona. During her Ph.D., she started to study how societies interact with marine ecosystems with a strong focus on designing and applying methodological approaches useful for management purposes. Her current research as part of EQUALSEA Lab focuses on studying the non-material human-nature relationships in coastal systems and equity issues in marine conservation. Additionally, Natali is a member and one of the European trainers for the Citizen Science Program Reef Life Survey.
