Area-based Management
OBIS evidence underpins the design, expansion, and evaluation of marine protected areas, helping achieve the global 30×30 target. From site selection to monitoring and reporting, OBIS provides the spatially explicit, taxonomically harmonised occurrence data needed at every stage of the area-based conservation cycle.
Supports: KMGBF Target 3, BBNJ Area-based Management Tools, SDG 14.5
Predicting global distribution and population connectivity of predatory sharks — a study using OBIS data to inform the spatial management of highly mobile marine species.
Designing MPA networks grounded in species distribution evidence
Implemented
OBIS occurrence data and habitat suitability models were central to the MPA Europe project, identifying biodiversity hotspots and ecological connectivity corridors across European seas. The resulting Species Distribution Maps tool gives managers and policymakers direct access to current and future species distribution projections, making it a practical resource for adaptive MPA planning and 30×30 progress tracking.
Region: European seas
Challenge/issue: MPA site selection often relies on expert judgment or partial surveys rather than comprehensive spatial data, leaving biodiversity hotspots and connectivity corridors outside protection boundaries.
Impact: A publicly accessible Species Distribution Maps tool informing adaptive MPA planning and 30×30 progress tracking across European seas.
OBIS inputs: OBIS occurrence data, habitat suitability models, regional datasets (European seas)
Assessing biodiversity risks before offshore energy development begins
Potential use case
OBIS occurrence data can provide the biodiversity baseline needed for environmental impact assessments of offshore energy developments, identifying sensitive habitats and species whose distributions overlap with proposed wind farm footprints before construction begins.
Region: Global, with particular relevance to North Sea, Baltic, and coastal Atlantic development zones
Challenge/issue: Offshore energy developers and regulators lack spatially comprehensive biodiversity baselines, risking undetected conflicts with sensitive habitats and protected species at project planning stages.
Impact: Early identification of biodiversity conflicts in offshore development, reducing regulatory delays and minimising habitat impacts.
OBIS inputs: OBIS API, regional occurrence datasets, benthic habitat records
Identifying underprotected areas of high biodiversity value in national MPA networks
Potential use case
By overlaying OBIS species richness and habitat data with existing MPA boundaries, governments can systematically identify underprotected areas of high biodiversity value and prioritise candidate sites for new designations.
Region: Global
Challenge/issue: Countries lack a systematic, data-driven method to identify gaps in their existing MPA networks, making it difficult to prioritise new designations or demonstrate progress toward the 30×30 target.
Impact: Evidence-based identification of MPA gap areas, directly supporting national 30×30 planning and CBD reporting obligations.
OBIS inputs: Species richness data, habitat occurrence records, OBIS API
Evaluating whether protected areas are delivering ecological outcomes
Ongoing
Comparing OBIS occurrence data from before and after MPA designation — and between protected and unprotected control sites — enables rigorous, standardised evaluation of whether protected areas are achieving their ecological objectives over time.
Region: Global
Challenge/issue: Governments invest in MPAs with limited ability to measure whether they are working — existing evaluation frameworks often lack the long-term, spatially consistent data needed for rigorous before-after control-impact analyses.
Impact: Standardised, evidence-based MPA effectiveness assessments informing adaptive management decisions and justifying continued conservation investment.
OBIS inputs: Long-term occurrence data, time-series records, national node datasets
