The other roles of MPAs, part 3: How MPAs can help address land-based runoff and water quality
The political spotlight that often shines on MPAs has fostered a view among some that MPAs pertain only to addressing the effects of fishing, as that is the role that attracts the most media attention. But that view sells MPAs short. In truth, MPAs can play valuable...
Planning MPAs and creating stable agreements: Lessons learned from California’s Marine Life Protection Act process
By Scott McCreary
MPA planning takes many forms. Some are highly technocratic and depend on command-and-control regulation to be implemented. Others are more "stakeholder-driven" but depend on an ultimate decision-making authority. Still others could be fully consensus-seeking.
Emerging practice suggests that MPAs should be planned in consultation with the full range of affected stakeholders in a region. But exactly how should that consultative planning process be structured and how can it be most successful? This article argues that without proper process design, the outcomes that result from such planning are not always stable.
New techniques for responding to coral bleaching in MPAs
In May 2016, the MPA News staff had an opportunity to snorkel the 306-km2 Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary in northwest Sri Lanka. Located in a sparsely populated area of Sri Lanka and billed as having the most pristine coral reef in the country, the MPA has 156 species of...