Land-use change is considered one of the greatest human threats to marine ecosystems globally. Given limited resources for conservation, we adapted and scaled up a spatially explicit, linked land–sea decision support tool using open access global geospatial data sets and software to inform the prioritization of future forest management interventions that can have the greatest benefit on marine conservation in Vanuatu. We leveraged and compared outputs from two global marine habitat maps to prioritize land areas for forest conservation and restoration that can maximize sediment retention, water quality, and healthy coastal/marine ecosystems. By combining the outputs obtained from both marine habitat maps, we incorporated elements unique to each and provided higher confidence in our prioritization results. Regardless of marine habitat data source, prioritized areas were mostly located in watersheds on the windward side of the large high islands, exposed to higher tropical rainfall, upstream from large sections of coral reef and seagrass habitats, and thus vulnerable to human-driven land use change. Forest protection and restoration in these areas will serve to maintain clean water and healthy, productive habitats through sediment retention, supporting the wellbeing of neighboring communities. The nationwide application of this linked land–sea tool can help managers prioritize watershed-based management actions based on quantitative synergies and trade-offs across terrestrial and marine ecosystems in data-poor regions. The framework developed here will guide the implementation of ridge-to-reef management across the Pacific region and beyond.

中文翻译：

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优先考虑森林管理行动，以使数据匮乏地区的海洋生境受益

土地利用变化被认为是人类对全球海洋生态系统的最大威胁之一。鉴于保护资源有限，我们使用开放访问的全球地理空间数据集和软件调整并扩大了空间明确、链接的陆海决策支持工具，以告知未来森林管理干预措施的优先顺序，这些干预措施可能对海洋保​​护产生最大的好处瓦努阿图。我们利用并比较了两个全球海洋栖息地地图的输出，确定了森林保护和恢复的优先土地区域，可以最大限度地保留沉积物、水质和健康的沿海/海洋生态系统。通过结合从两个海洋栖息地地图获得的输出，我们结合了每个独特的元素，并为我们的优先排序结果提供了更高的信心。无论海洋栖息地数据来源如何，优先区域大多位于大型高岛迎风侧的流域，暴露于较高的热带降雨量，大片珊瑚礁和海草栖息地的上游，因此容易受到人类驱动的土地利用变化的影响。这些地区的森林保护和恢复将有助于通过保留沉积物来维持清洁的水和健康、多产的栖息地，从而支持邻近社区的福祉。这种陆海关联工具在全国范围内的应用可以帮助管理人员根据数据匮乏地区陆地和海洋生态系统之间的定量协同和权衡，优先考虑基于流域的管理行动。这里制定的框架将指导整个太平洋地区及其他地区实施从脊到礁的管理。