Identification of important marine areas around the Japanese Archipelago: Establishment of a protocol for evaluating a broad area using ecologically and biologically significant areas selection criteria

After the adoption of the Aichi Target, data accumulation and evaluation regarding biodiversity have progressed rapidly. The use of ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSAs) criteria to evaluate important areas enables the identification of effective and prioritized areas for ecosystem management. This includes strategic environmental assessment and discussions aimed at establishing protected marine areas based on scientific data. This paper reviews previous and current ideas as well as the methods used, for the identification of EBSAs. In particular, the following issues are addressed: problems associated with different types of marine ecosystems in the Japanese Archipelago, such as seagrass and seaweed beds, coral reefs, offshore pelagic plankton, and deep-sea benthic ecosystems; and problems associated with the integration of multiple criteria that are not totally exclusive. Several candidate variables accounting for each of the 7 criteria used to identify ecologically important areas are presented. Data availability is the most important criterion that allowed for the comprehensive evaluation of different types of ecosystems in the same localities. In particular, for coastal ecosystems such as seagrass, seaweed beds, and coral reefs, it is possible to carry out broad spatial comparisons using variables representing most of these 7 criteria. Regarding methods for the quantitative evaluation of each criterion and their integration, application of these methods to kelp forest ecosystems in Hokkaido, Northern Japan is presented as a case study.