Data about marine area-based management tools to assess their contribution to the UN sustainable development goals

The dataset presented in this article contains information about marine Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) used to assess their contribution to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Following the scope of the analysis, ABMTs were identified by scrutinizing international and regional legal sources related to ocean management in the fields of marine conservation, fisheries, deep sea bed mining, underwater natural and cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and marine spatial planning. Legal sources were screened to depict the following characteristics of individual ABMTs: i) management objectives; ii) authorities responsible for delivering such objectives; iii) the system of management and planning entailed in the ABMT including the zoning type; and iv) the specific spatial scope and domain each ABMT refer to in vertical depth and horizontal domain. Data were generated through an internal expert elicitation. Experts, initially trained in the data analysis and related protocol, contributed to the data production because of their specific knowledge and experience in ocean management. This dataset represents a unique source of information for advancing research about monitoring and assessment of the achievement of sustainable development goals that encompasses different types of ABMTs.

The dataset presented in this article contains information about marine Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) used to assess their contribution to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Following the scope of the analysis, ABMTs were identified by scrutinizing international and regional legal sources related to ocean management in the fields of marine conservation, fisheries, deep sea bed mining, underwater natural and cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and marine spatial planning. Legal sources were screened to depict the following characteristics of individual ABMTs: i) management objectives; ii) authorities responsible for delivering such objectives; iii) the system of management and planning entailed in the ABMT including the zoning type; and iv) the specific spatial scope and domain each ABMT refer to in vertical depth and horizontal domain. Data were generated through an internal expert elicitation. Experts, initially trained in the data analysis and related protocol, contributed to the data production because of their specific knowledge and experience in ocean management. This dataset represents a unique source of information for advancing research about monitoring and assessment of the achievement of sustainable development goals that encompasses different types of ABMTs.  Table   Subject Environmental sciences → Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law Specific subject area Data pertain to the legal sources in force to the management and planning of the ocean and coastal areas in area under and beyond national jurisdiction. Type of data Table  How the data were acquired An initial list of 47 ocean-related international agreements (at global and regional levels) was compiled, with respect to shipping, fisheries management, deep seabed mining in the Area, underwater natural and cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and marine spatial planning. We screened them and compiled a list of ABMTs mentioned by the respective legal sources and related tools. We recorded how legal sources at the international level have shaped ABMTs with regard to spatial scope, mandate and responsibilities, and single/multiple sector-based objectives. Data about ABMTs were collected with respect to: i) their objectives; ii) authorities responsible for delivering such objectives; iii) the system of management and planning entailed in the ABMT types; and iv) the specific spatial scope and domain each ABMT refer to in vertical depth and horizontal domain.

Value of the Data
• The value of this data derives from the systematic analysis of Area-based management tools (ABMT) proposed in this study providing a complete and unique source of information for further research, for instance, related to defining performance indicators for sustainable development goals to encompass the different types of ABMTs, whose characteristics are analysed and reported here. • Decision makers, non-governmental organizations, practitioners and marine managers can use this dataset to understand, confront, and select the best area based management tool based on the characteristics resulting in this secondary dataset to address the specific management problem they need to address. • This dataset can be used to set potential monitoring strategies and protocols based on the data collected here for the area-based management tools, for instance, to define a framework of indicators for the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Data Description
Data about Area-based management tools (ABMTs) and related legal sources from international and regional agreements. All the primary sources were retrieved from public institutional websites of the respective responsible authorities and accessed on March 9, 2020. The data protocol for the identification and description of ABMTs from legal documents and acts reports the following information: i) ABMT focus/sector or type of management defined under each tool, ii) reference to the legal source including short name of the source and/or name of the institution, iii) year of entry into force of the legal sources, iv) short definition as used in official documents (including references to article/s), v) instruments used to implement ABMT, vi) vertical marine subdivisions/zones to which ABMT applies, vii) brief outline of the maritime jurisdictional areas addressed, (according to UNCLOS [1] ), viii) brief description or outline of sector/topic for establishing/ mentioning an ABMT, ix) Authority associated with the ABMT, x) list of tools and/or management strategies associated), xi) year of issuing and example(s) of implementation, xii) link to the primary legal source.

Experimental Design, Materials and Methods
Data were generated considering to identify ABMTs and related characteristics, then to assess their contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals [1] . We defined Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) as globally applied, purpose-orientated instruments used in the planning and management of marine and coastal areas, entailing the implementation of a system of rights and duties in a particular management area (spatially explicit), under the responsibility of a designated authority, to afford high levels of protection [2 , 3] . Since the system of rights and duties is enforced through legal sources, we search for ABMTs and data by selecting legal sources related to planning and management of marine and coastal areas for conservation, shipping, fisheries, deep seabed mining, and Underwater Cultural and Natural Heritage (UCNH) management, and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP).
Because of the global scope of the analysis, we identified legal sources at international (e.g., United Nations) and regional level (e.g., Regional Fishery Organizations), without addressing specific regulations at national level of individual States. Since of international and regional agreements covered all ocean, we consider the dataset representative of the ABMTs implemented globally.
The authors compiled an initial list of 58 ocean-related international agreements (at global and regional levels). We removed 11 international agreements that were not implemented yet, and obtained a final list of 47 international agreements.
We screened them and compiled a list of ABMTs mentioned by the respective legal sources and related tools. We recorded how legal sources at the international level have shaped ABMTs with regard to spatial scope, mandate and responsibilities, and single/multiple sector-based objectives. Data about ABMTs were collected with respect to: i) their management objectives; ii) authorities responsible for delivering such objectives; iii) the system of management and planning entailed in the ABMT forms; and iv) the specific spatial domain ABMTs refer to (both vertical depth and horizontal).
Data were generated through internal expert elicitation. Experts involved -as the authors of this study -were part of the Working Group on "Area Based Management" of the European COST Action CA 15217 OceanGov "Ocean Governance for Sustainability: Challenges, Options and the Role of Science". The experts had a diverse and in-depth knowledge about the different Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) related to conservation, shipping, fisheries, deep seabed mining, Underwater Cultural and Natural Heritage (UCNH), and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP).
The experts, divided in groups by management sector, were asked to compile an initial list of international and regional legal sources for their management sector. The initial lists were then shared among the entire team to identify potential missing sources. Once the lists were defined, the data collection was performed in groups by annotating data from the legal sources on a shared spreadsheet. The groups were initially trained with a workshop held in Aveiro (Portugal) in June 2018. All the authors contribute to identifying the legal sources and revising the data collected remotely.

Ethics Statements
The data collection and process does not involve any ethical concerns.