2 Designing a Network of Marine Protected Areas for the Yellow Sea based on Principles of Biophysical Connectivity MPA Network Development Training Toolkit October 2019 This publication was made possible through the support provided by the UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Phase II Project. Suggested citation: Lozano-Knowlton, Rocio and Walton, Anne. 2019. Designing a Network of Marine Protected Areas for the Yellow Sea based on Principles of Biophysical Connectivity – MPA Network Development Training Toolkit. UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Phase II Project, Incheon, RO Korea. ---------------------------------------------------------- YSLME Phase II Project Incheon Secretariat 5th floor, G-Tower 175 Art center-daero Yeonsu-gu Incheon 22004 RO Korea Beijing Office 6 Qiwang Fen Bei Road Beianhe Sujiatuo Haidian District Beijing, PR China 3 Preface UNDP/GEF has provided assistance to countries bordering the Yellow Sea in support of their efforts to address among others the increasing trends of depleting fishery stocks, loss of coastal wetland, land and sea-based pollution and implementation of the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Strategic Action Programme (YSLME SAP) adopted by China and RO Korea. One of the assistance programs to implement the SAP is the UNDP/GEF/UNOPS project entitled Implementing the Strategic Action Programme for the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem: Restoring Ecosystem Goods and Services and Consolidation of a Long-term Regional Environmental Governance Framework, or the UNDP/GEF YSLME Phase II Project. The objective of this regional project is to achieve adaptive ecosystem-based management of the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem bordered by China and RO Korea by fostering long-term sustainable institutional, policy and financial arrangements for effective ecosystem-based management of the Yellow Sea in accordance with the YSLME SAP. The four components of the project are sustainable national and regional cooperation for ecosystem- based management and improved ecosystem carrying capacity (ECC) with respect to provisioning services, regulating and cultural services, and supporting services. Under the Outcome of “MPA network strengthened in the Yellow Sea”, the project would support a series of activities leading to the expansion of the MPA system that will take into account connectivity measured by use of the developed connectivity toolkit or other means, and increase in management effectiveness of existing MPAs. In line with this Outcome, the YSLME Project Management Office organized the 1st regional workshop on designing a network of MPAs for the YSLME in Seocheon, RO Korea, on 23-27 July 2018 sponsored by the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea. Attended by more than 30 representatives from 17 research institutes, universities, NGOs, regional organizations and local governments of PR China, RO Korea and the United States of America, the workshop was congratulated in person by Mr. Kwan-jin KIM, Deputy Director of Marine Ecology Division of Marine Policy Office, Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries of RO Korea; Dr. Jin Yong CHOI, Executive Director of the Marine Conservation of Korea Marine Management Corporation (KOEM); and Dr. Sun-Do HWANG, President of the Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK). The five-day workshop was facilitated by Ms. Rocio Lozano-Knowlton of MERITO Foundation of the United States of America. The training workshop was designed to help participants better design a network of MPAs in Yellow Sea by improving their capacity and skills in the following areas: • Understanding the added value of scaling up to MPA Networks; • Understanding the biophysical elements and tools required to design ecologically connected and functional MPA networks; • Articulating the objectives for the YSLME MPA Network • Understanding the status of knowledge of and data gaps for the three-representative species; • Vulnerability Assessment of the 3 representative species and habitats; • Risk Assessment for MPAs; • Management options for addressing impacts; • Managing capacity assessment; • Establishment of a framework for the YSLME MPA Network; • Site selection criteria for the network; • Overview of GIS decision making tools; 4 • Consolidating a roadmap for designing the MPA Network; and • Consolidating a roadmap for making the YSLME MPA Network operational. This toolkit contains the theories, steps, and processes for designing a functional MPA Network for the YSLME presented and utilized during the technical workshop. I wish to thank Ms. Rocio Lozano-Knowlton, Executive Director of MERITO Foundation, and Dr. Anne Walton, former Director of MPA Program of NOAA for jointly designing the training workshop and consolidating the training materials into this toolkit. It is hoped that with their valuable help this toolkit can provide a consolidated framework for MPA practitioners and associated working groups of the YSLME Phase II project within and beyond the YSLME Phase II Project to continue to collaboratively establish a functional network of MPAs based on biophysical connectivity contextualized to the YSLME. Furthermore, we also offer it as a useful reference to MPA practitioners, managers, researchers and students in countries bordering the Yellow Sea and of other large marine ecosystems who wish to increase management effectiveness of MPAs through developing them into ecological, management and social networks. Yinfeng Guo Chief Technical Adviser and Manager UNDP/GEF YSLME Phase II Project 5 How to use this Toolkit: • The toolkit is divided in five (5) sections, each section reflects the information best practices or case studies presented through slides and the handouts, worksheets and posters used to gather information and bring consensus among participants regarding the various aspects of MPA Network design for the YS during each day of the 1st technical workshop of July 23-27, 2018. • The text in dark red are guiding notes for the facilitator of future technical workshops such as what the slide represents, or how to connect concepts or provide case studies. • Text in blue makes cross-reference to the findings, information or conclusion gathered or agreed upon the participants of the 1st technical workshop in July 2018. • Each day’s section includes a summary of what will be accomplished that day, duration required for the day’s workshop, objectives of the day, competences needed from the participants, and recommended reading or videos. • Embedded into the pages of this toolkit are all the blank worksheets, handouts and posters referred in the slides. • The number in the right indicates the slide number for each day’s presentations. • A dark grey line demarks the end of a slide. 6 Table of Contents DESIGNING A NETWORK OF MPAS FOR THE YELLOW SEA BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF CONNECTIVITY – WORKSHOP OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 DAY 1: DESIGN PRINCIPLES OF MPA NETWORKS ................................................................................................................ 13 PRESENTATION & ASSESSMENT 1.1: REVIEW OF THE 23 RECOMMENDED YSLME PPAS .......................................................... 15 PRESENTATION & ASSESSMENT 1.2: OVERVIEW OF CHINA’S EXISTING MPAS IN THE YELLOW SEA ......................................... 17 PRESENTATION & ASSESSMENT 1.3: OVERVIEW OF RO KOREA’S EXISTING MPAS IN THE YELLOW SEA................................. 19 EXERCISE 1.1: Preliminary Gap Analysis of Existing MPAs .......................................................................................................... 22 PRESENTATION & INTERACTIVE SESSION 1.4: SCALING UP FROM INDIVIDUAL MPAS TO NETWORKS OF MPAS................ 24 PRESENTATION 1.5: MODELS AND FRAMEWORKS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF MPA NETWORKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD . 47 EXERCISE 1.2: Building the Objectives for the YSLME Network for Multiple Species with Different Dispersal Ranges and Habitat Requirements ........................................................................................................................................................ 67 DAY 2. ANALYZING THE SETTING FOR THE YSLME MPA NETWORK ............................................................................ 75 PRESENTATION 2.1: STATE OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND WORKING WITH LIMITED INFORMATION .................................................... 77 EXERCISE 2.1: State of the knowledge for each of the three representative species ......................................................... 87 EXERCISE 2.2a: Identification of Data Gaps....................................................................................................................................... 90 EXERCISE 2.2b: Identification of Potential Data Sources ............................................................................................................. 91 PRESENTATION 2.2: CONSIDERATION OF HUMAN USES OF THE YELLOW SEA AND THEIR IMPACTS ON THE THREE REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES ................................................................................................................................................................................... 92 EXERCISE 2.3: Analysis of Human Uses and Their Impacts on the three Representative Species ............................. 105 EXERCISE 2.4: Vulnerability Assessment of the three Representative Species .................................................................