Lessons learned by addressing challenges to deep-sea conservation planning in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea: linking science to practice

Conservation of the offshore and deep sea is an opportunity that exists today but is rapidly being diminished due to offshore development. Establishing networks of marine protected areas is crucial for conserving biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem resilience to climate change. In response to these needs, we conducted a two-year conservation planning process within Israel's exclusive economic zone in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea, addressing challenges such as significant data gaps, poor governance, and limited management capabilities. This initiative was led by a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) in collaboration with research institutes. We employed a multidisciplinary approach that integrated existing data through advanced statistical tools, spatial and food-web modeling, and spatial prioritization tools. The plan proposes the establishment of ten protected areas covering 30 % of the exclusive economic zone. The plan prioritizes protection of vulnerable benthic habitats, diverse pelagic regions, and potential climatic refugia while minimizing socioeconomic conflicts. Based on our experience, we provide recommendations on how to incorporate key factors for advancing marine conservation, particularly of ecosystems that are generally out of sight and out of mind of policy makers and the general public. These factors include collaboration across sectors (non-governmental organizations, academia, research institutes, international experts, and governmental ministries), reliance on the best available scientific data, extensive stakeholder engagement, and a planning approach that explicitly allows for adjustments and revisions based on new data and evolving conditions. Our results demonstrate an innovative NGO-driven approach to conservation planning that can guide the establishment of deep-sea protected areas in data-limited and governance-challenged marine regions.