MPA News
Notes & News: Canada – Chile – Western Australia – Ecological connectivity – From the MPA News vault – MPA Poetry Corner
Canada designates MPA to protect globally unique glass sponge reefs On 16 February, the Government of Canada designated a 2410-km2 MPA along its Pacific coast to protect several globally unique and ancient glass sponge reefs. The glass sponges have mineral skeletons made of silica (hence their ‘glass’ name) and their reef structures are estimated to be 9000 years old. Glass sponge reefs of this size — once abundant during Earth’s Jurassic Period — were believed by scientists to be extinct before these colonies were discovered off Canada in 1987. The MPA’s full name is the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte…
The $400-Billion Potential for Private Investment in Conservation: With Investors Looking for Projects, What Can MPAs Do to Access the Funds?
In early 2016, a report by firms in the global financial sector estimated that conservation funding worldwide could be grown from its current level of US $52 billion to as much as $400 billion per year. How? Through private investment. If conservation projects could be made profitable — such as by generating revenue from ecotourism or by supporting sustainable resource extraction — nature protection would become attractive to investors. Investors would pay for protected areas, for example, and make their money back (with interest) on the tourism or other revenue-generating activities that occurred there. To put the $400-billion figure in…
Could U.S. Whistleblower Laws Open a New Financing Stream for MPAs Worldwide?
Stephen M. Kohn is Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center (NWC), a legal advocacy organization. The NWC has spent 30 years supporting whistleblowers, mostly in the banking and securities sector where awareness of the reward system is relatively high. When Kohn realized in 2015 that the whistleblower reward system also existed throughout US environmental law, he decided that a tool that worked successfully in fighting financial crime should be applied just as energetically to fighting wildlife crime.
Blue Solution: Coral Reef Valuation for MPA Implementation and Management in St. Maarten
By Tadzio Bervoets, Nature Foundation St. Maarten (adapted by MPA News)
For a long time there was little government management of the marine environment in the Caribbean island nation of St. Maarten. In 1997, the Nature Foundation St. Maarten was established in order to set up and manage a marine park, under contract from the St. Maarten government. But the proposed park failed to gain political support: the way it was designed, the park would have had significant impacts on the country’s cruise ship industry, dive shop operators, and fishers.
Notes and News: 5% MPA coverage – Canada – Deep-sea MPA – Obama’s last MPA – Tsitsikamma – Philippines – Marine World Heritage – Climate change vulnerability – Fukushima – MPA Science Corner – MPA News vault
World crosses 5% MPA coverage target The latest update to the Protected Planet Report — the regular assessment of global data on protected areas — finds that there are now nearly 15,000 MPAs worldwide, covering 18.5 million km2 of ocean. That is more than 5% of the global ocean — the first time the 5% threshold has been crossed for MPAs. If only national waters are counted (excluding the high seas), the figure rises to 13% coverage. Announced in December, the updated figures are here and a press release is here. Canada to designate MPA off Atlantic coast In December,…
Introduction to Our Coverage of MPA Financing: New Ideas, Opportunities, and Why the Future Could Be Bright
There is perhaps no topic of greater interest to the MPA field than financing. A search through the MPA News archives reveals that over the years we have covered the subject dozens of times — from how to diversify funding streams, to starting successful endowments, to building strong fundraising programs, and much more. The fact remains that most MPAs still do not have the funds necessary to address all their management needs. The majority of funding for protected areas still comes from government sources (governments account for 80% of biodiversity finance worldwide), and such funding can fluctuate with changes in government…
How Financial Experts Are Partnering with Protected Areas to Launch New Revenue Programs
There are some excellent publications available to guide protected areas in developing new revenue streams, including IUCN’s Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas, several reports by the Conservation Finance Alliance, and more. (Following this article, this issue of MPA News contains a library of resources on conservation financing.) But implementing new revenue strategies based simply on guidelines from a report may not always be easy. This is particularly the case if your management team does not already have a background in business or financing. In this situation, having a partner institution to serve as an experienced guide can be a great…
Library on MPA Financing
From MPA News: Building sustainable financing for MPAs by diversifying funding streams (2014) Building successful endowments to support MPAs: Malpelo and the Mesoamerican Reef (2014) Paying for MPAs: Examples of Large-Scale Fundraising for Planning and Management (2012) Creating Endowments for Sustainable Funding of MPAs: Experts Describe the Opportunities and Challenges (2008) Study: Global MPA Network Would Cost $12-14 Billion Annually (2004) Tools and Strategies for Financial Sustainability: How Managers Are Building Secure Futures for Their MPAs (2003) Problem Is Shortage of Capacity, Not Revenue Sources: Proposing a New Approach to Financing Protected Areas (2003) Stretching Your MPA Budget: How to…
Important Marine Mammal Areas: A New Tool for MPAs with Marine Mammals
The first workshop to implement a new tool for conservation — Important Marine Mammal Areas, or IMMAs — was held in Chania, Greece, from 24-28 October. The workshop was organized by the IUCN WCPA-SSC Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, which devised IMMAs to represent the priority sites for marine mammal conservation worldwide. Although IMMAs are not necessarily protected areas, they could inform a variety of conservation outcomes, including the siting of MPAs, creation of directives on shipping or underwater noise, and increased monitoring. The October workshop brought together experts from across the Mediterranean to identify sites in the region…
Blue Solution: The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act and effective governance
By Angelique M. Songco, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (adapted by MPA News)
The Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) Act showcases the successful management of a remote no-take reserve in the Philippines. The formulation of policies for TRNP involved multiple consultations with a cross-section of society, from village to national level. The consultative process ensured that the impacted communities and stakeholders were able to shape the contours of the law, thereby embedding fairness in rule-making and inspiring voluntary compliance.