Growing industrialization and poor conservation planning challenge natural resources' management in the Amazon Shelf off Brazil

The Northern Brazilian shelf is dominated by the interface between the world's largest river and the Atlantic Ocean, which results in a hypossaline/nutrient-rich offshore plume that reaches up to 2.106 km2 across the North Atlantic. The Amazonian-Orinoco Influence Zone is considered an Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area by the United Nation's Convention of Biological Diversity, encompassing structurally complex and biologically productive ecosystems with high biodiversity. In the last decades, the growing industrialization, together with the exploitation of coastal and marine resources, intensified across the region while management of natural resources' exploitation remained weak. Ecological knowledge is steadily accumulating, but the fragmented database challenges the development of a comprehensive environmental management agenda. Here, based on an extensive compilation of primary and secondary data, we assessed the spatial extent of the economic activities that impact biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the region (e.g., fisheries, oil and gas development, mining). The representation of biological diversity in the developing network of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas (CMPAs) was also assessed based on the distribution of benthic habitats, river plume dynamics, and the distribution of endangered, protected and commercially important species. Besides outlining the escalating conflicts and policies that hinder the sustainable use of the Amazon shelf off Brazil, our results provide an initial framework for marine spatial planning.

Automated summary

The Northern Brazilian shelf is influenced by the world's largest river and the Atlantic Ocean, creating an important ecological and biological region. Despite challenges from industrialization and resource exploitation, ecological knowledge continues to accumulate, although fragmented data poses a challenge. The study assesses the impact of economic activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, providing an initial framework for marine spatial planning.