25.1 Introduction and Historical Background of Marine
and Coastal Conservation in the Alboran Sea
Biodiversity conservation probably represents one of the biggest challenges for
humans in the twenty-first century, especially considering the continuing human
impacts on most of the ecosystems at different scales (Rands et al. 2010). Effective
conservation of biodiversity is essential for human survival and for maintenance of
ecosystem processes and services. Despite some conservation successes (especially
at local scales) and increases of the public and government interest in living
sustainably, habitats and species are still declining at an unprecedented rate (Ichii
et al. 2019). Moreover, this rate is expected to rise in the future due to human
population growth, depletion and inefficient management of natural resources and
unsustainable practices affecting the ecosystems, among other causes (Ichii et al.
2019). Marine species and habitats are experiencing a similar decline if compared to
terrestrial ones; however, knowledge for the marine environment is more limited,
and marine conservation has always lagged behind terrestrial conservation in most
coastal countries (Maxwell et al. 2015). At the end of the twentieth century, the
concept of protecting certain marine areas was widely accepted, and since then, this
idea has been consolidated with hundreds of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
established around the world. As their numbers have grown rapidly, so have their
diversity and complexity; MPAs vary dramatically in concept, size, design, purpose,
focus, name and effectiveness (Norse 1993). This same process recognized in other
seas and countries has followed a similar trend in the Alboran Sea. In this way,
MPAs have been defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
as “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and
associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by
law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment”
(Kelleher 1999). MPAs represent a traditional way for preserving species, habitats
M. Malouli Idrissi
Institut National de Recherche Halieutique, Casablanca, Morocco
e-mail: malouli@inrh.ma
A. de la Torriente
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Santander, Spain
e-mail: ana.torriente@ieo.es
J. A. González García
Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación y del Deporte, Universidad de
Granada, Melilla, Spain
e-mail: jagg@ugr.es
L. Sánchez-Tocino · J. M. Tierno de Figueroa
Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
e-mail: lstocino@ugr.es; jmtdef@ugr.es
J. Templado
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
e-mail: templado@mncn.csic.es
820
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.
and Coastal Conservation in the Alboran Sea
Biodiversity conservation probably represents one of the biggest challenges for
humans in the twenty-first century, especially considering the continuing human
impacts on most of the ecosystems at different scales (Rands et al. 2010). Effective
conservation of biodiversity is essential for human survival and for maintenance of
ecosystem processes and services. Despite some conservation successes (especially
at local scales) and increases of the public and government interest in living
sustainably, habitats and species are still declining at an unprecedented rate (Ichii
et al. 2019). Moreover, this rate is expected to rise in the future due to human
population growth, depletion and inefficient management of natural resources and
unsustainable practices affecting the ecosystems, among other causes (Ichii et al.
2019). Marine species and habitats are experiencing a similar decline if compared to
terrestrial ones; however, knowledge for the marine environment is more limited,
and marine conservation has always lagged behind terrestrial conservation in most
coastal countries (Maxwell et al. 2015). At the end of the twentieth century, the
concept of protecting certain marine areas was widely accepted, and since then, this
idea has been consolidated with hundreds of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
established around the world. As their numbers have grown rapidly, so have their
diversity and complexity; MPAs vary dramatically in concept, size, design, purpose,
focus, name and effectiveness (Norse 1993). This same process recognized in other
seas and countries has followed a similar trend in the Alboran Sea. In this way,
MPAs have been defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
as “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and
associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by
law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment”
(Kelleher 1999). MPAs represent a traditional way for preserving species, habitats
M. Malouli Idrissi
Institut National de Recherche Halieutique, Casablanca, Morocco
e-mail: malouli@inrh.ma
A. de la Torriente
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Santander, Spain
e-mail: ana.torriente@ieo.es
J. A. González García
Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación y del Deporte, Universidad de
Granada, Melilla, Spain
e-mail: jagg@ugr.es
L. Sánchez-Tocino · J. M. Tierno de Figueroa
Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
e-mail: lstocino@ugr.es; jmtdef@ugr.es
J. Templado
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
e-mail: templado@mncn.csic.es
820
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.