Mitigating Negative Unintended Impacts on Biodiversity in the Natura 2000 Vouga Estuary (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)

This chapter presents the co-development of the Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) planning process in the Vouga estuary for the mitigation of unintended impacts on biodiversity resulting from the 2019/2020 management plan. This estuary, part of Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon located on the north-west coast of Portugal (40°38′N, 08°45′W), connects the Vouga river catchment area to the Atlantic Ocean. Ria de Aveiro, part of the Natura 2000 network, is characterised by high biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem services. However, it is also a vulnerable territory that requires a management plan in practice for environmental protection, targeting threatened species and habitats, but also to enable socio-economic welfare. Framed by EBM principles, the stepwise planning approach aimed at identifying the governance boundaries and institutions, the policy objectives, synergies, and gaps relevant to managing biodiversity, and to promote participatory actions with local stakeholders and policy-makers to understand their objectives. These three first steps enabled us to understand the social-ecological system and to co-develop relevant EBM solutions. In the final step, the proposed EBM solutions were evaluated for effectiveness, efficiency, equity and fairness, and then compared to the present condition. The co-developed solutions target science, policy and stakeholders interfaces. Namely, scientific knowledge applied to restore saltmarshes and seagrasses, policy objectives harmonising monitoring across EU Directives and integrate territorial management instruments, and management process involving stakeholders throughout.