DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3dp44
title: Data from: Benefits and challenges of scaling up expansion of marine protected area networks in the Verde Island Passage, Central Philippines

description: Locally-established marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proven to
 achieve local-scale fisheries and conservation objectives. However, since
 many of these MPAs were not designed to form ecologically-connected
 networks, their contributions to broader-scale goals such as
 complementarity and connectivity can be limited. In contrast, integrated
 networks of MPAs designed with systematic conservation planning are
 assumed to be more effective—ecologically, socially, and economically—than
 collections of locally-established MPAs. There is, however, little
 empirical evidence that clearly demonstrates the supposed advantages of
 systematic MPA networks. A key reason is the poor record of implementation
 of systematic plans attributable to lack of local buy-in. An intermediate
 scenario for the expansion of MPAs is scaling up of local decisions,
 whereby locally-driven MPA initiatives are coordinated through
 collaborative partnerships among local governments and their communities.
 Coordination has the potential to extend the benefits of individual MPAs
 and perhaps to approach the potential benefits offered by systematic MPA
 networks. We evaluated the benefits of scaling up local MPAs to form
 networks by simulating seven expansion scenarios for MPAs in the Verde
 Island Passage, central Philippines. The scenarios were: uncoordinated
 community-based establishment of MPAs; two scenarios reflecting different
 levels of coordinated MPA expansion through collaborative partnerships;
 and four scenarios guided by systematic conservation planning with
 different contexts for governance. For each scenario, we measured benefits
 through time in terms of achievement of objectives for representation of
 marine habitats. We found that: in any governance context, systematic
 networks were more efficient than non-systematic ones; systematic networks
 were more efficient in broader governance contexts; and, contrary to
 expectations but with caveats, the uncoordinated scenario was slightly
 more efficient than the coordinated scenarios. Overall, however,
 coordinated MPA networks have the potential to be more efficient than the
 uncoordinated ones, especially when coordinated planning uses systematic
 methods.
description: shp -
 verde_puregion_governanceShapefile presenting the
 governance areas for each planning unit used in the model simulations and
 results described in the paper. The file can be used to present the data
 included in the paper to create maps.shp -
 verde_puregion_habitatsShapefile describing the
 area of habitats present within each planning unit. This file was used in
 the data analysis for the models described in the paper. This area of
 habitat described in the file are in square metres.DataZip folder containing
 processed data, model results and source code of the models described in
 the paper. The excel sheets can be used as attributes in the SHP files
 provided to create maps. The text file included in the folder is the the
 source code for the models and can be used and edited in
 MatLab.