Conservation in coastal soft‐sediment ecosystems: valuing places and recovery

Abstract

Coastal soft‐sediment environments provide numerous benefits to all aspects of life and are disproportionally impacted by anthropogenic influence. There is an acknowledgment that ecosystem restoration is required across the globe to combat environmental degradation over the past century. Initiatives like The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration have an aim of protecting 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. While we need to set goals to prompt action, we also need to ensure that these goals are backed with decision‐making that is underpinned by scientific principles to ensure that we do not end up with residual reserves. This paper suggests practical methods for determining the most appropriate areas for protection in coastal soft‐sediment environments to increase the chances of the ecosystem restoration that is so desperately needed.