Biological valuation: guidelines for a transparant and generally applicable protocol for the marine environment

Policy makers and marine managers request reliable and meaningful biological baseline maps to be able to make well-deliberated choices concerning sustainable use and conservation in the marine environment. Biological valuation maps aim at the compilation of all available biological and ecological information for a selected study area and allocate an integrated biological value to subzones. They can therefore be used as baseline maps for future spatial planning at sea. This paper gives guidelines on the practical application of the concept of marine biological valuation to a study area. All steps in the valuation protocol are described, starting from the selection of the valuation criteria over the determination of the appropriate assessment questions and practical algorithms to evaluate the criteria to the final scoring of all assessment questions. The marine biological valuation protocol is illustrated using a hypothetical study area.