AUTHOR=Aburto-Oropeza Octavio , Platzgummer Valentina , Ferrer Erica M. , López-Sagástegui Catalina , Mirabent Rocío de Guadalupe Abud , Ávalos Galindo América , Favoretto Fabio , Giron-Nava Alfredo , Mendoza Camacho Isabel , Núñez Sañudo Claudia , Plascencia de La Cruz Marisol , Robles Alejandro TITLE=Marine Prosperity Areas: a framework for aligning ecological restoration and human well-being using area-based protections JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024 YEAR=2025 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1491483 DOI=10.3389/fmars.2024.1491483 ISSN=2296-7745 ABSTRACT=Mechanisms for marine ecological protection and recovery, including area-based conservation tools like ‘Marine Protected Areas’ (MPAs) are necessary tools to reach the Aichi Target or the forthcoming 30x30 target set by the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. However, full ecosystem recovery takes years to manifest and the idea that MPA protection alone will foster human well-being is frequently contradicted by socio-economic evidence. Therefore, a new framework for marine area-based conservation and ecosystem restoration that reconciles the discrepancies between ecological recovery and socio-economic growth timelines is needed to effectively meet global biodiversity conservation targets. We introduce the concept of ‘Marine Prosperity Areas,’ (MPpA) an area-based conservation tool that prioritizes human prosperity as opposed to passively relying on ecosystem recovery to catalyze social change and economic growth. This concept leverages a suite of tried-and-true community-based intervention and investment strategies to strengthen and expand access to environmental science, social goods and services, and the financial perks of the blue economy. This data-driven framework may be of interest to stakeholders who support traditional area-based conservation models, but also to those who have been historically opposed to MPAs or have been excluded from past conservation processes.