MPA News
Selecting Sites for MPAs: How Practitioners Have Used Different Methods in Planning MPA Networks
In designing MPA networks, planners must decide how they will choose which sites to include. There are a variety of ways to select sites, from simple ones (having experts make a list based on their best judgment) to complex (using advanced software to consider an array of ecological and socioeconomic factors). There are also questions on how best to classify the area you seek to protect. After all, if you aim to have a representative network of MPAs, you need to know what characteristics or habitats you want represented within it, and how to include samples of each in the…
MPA Perspective: Future Directions in MPA Site Selection
By Dan Brumbaugh Collectively, stakeholders in most MPA processes are interested in science-based network designs that provide confidence in the long-term persistence of biological diversity and the maintenance of important ecosystem processes and services. Therefore, a big challenge for marine conservation scientists and planners is to utilize features (i.e., what people want to conserve), target levels (how much is needed or how much can be afforded), and new algorithms that fully achieve stakeholder visions for their seascapes. Since systematic conservation planning is data-intensive, planners have traditionally chosen features such as sets of species or habitats for which data are readily…
MPA Perspective: Building Networks of MPAs for Sustainable Reef Fisheries in Indonesia – The COREMAP Experience
Editor’s note: Peter Mous is MPA Advisor for the Coral Reef Management and Rehabilitation Program (COREMAP) in Indonesia. Agus Dermawan is Deputy Director for Aquatic Conservation Areas and Marine National Parks (Directorate-General of Marine, Coastal, and Small Islands) in Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. Cherryta Yunia is Deputy Director for Conservation Areas, Wetlands, and Essential Ecosystems (Directorate-General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation) in Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry. By Peter J. Mous, Agus Dermawan, Cherryta Yunia The Coral Reef Management and Rehabilitation Program (COREMAP) represents a major effort by the Government of Indonesia, The World Bank, and the…
Notes & News
Program to build MPA management capacity A six-day program to train managers, stakeholders, and government officials in the planning and management of MPAs will be held 8-13 September 2008 in Suva, Fiji. Offered by the University of the South Pacific, the International Ocean Institute-OceanLearn, USAID, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the training program is tailored to meet the management training needs of newly designated MPAs in the South Pacific region. To view the course announcement, go to www.oceanlearn.net/Flyers/MPACourse08.pdf. Endowment created for Malpelo MPA A US $5-million endowment has been established to help fund the Malpelo Fauna and…
MPA Tip: Making technical language accessible for public planning processes
“MPA Tip” is a recurring feature that presents advice for MPA planning and management from practitioners and publications. Below are suggestions for resource managers on how to communicate technical information effectively to the public, such as during MPA planning processes that involve stakeholders. The advice is from the draft Handbook on Public Participation in International Waters Management, being produced by the International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IW:LEARN). The draft publication is available in Word format at www.iwlearn.net/abt_iwlearn/events/p2/p2-handbook.en. Tip: It is important to communicate with the public in terms that they understand. To make technical language accessible, use the…
What Does Your MPA Cost?: Considering the Various Costs of MPAs to Stakeholders and Management
Much discussion on MPAs, and particularly no-take marine reserves, focuses on their benefits: to the marine ecosystem – to research – even to fishermen as insurance against stock collapse, or as a potential source of fish spilling over into fished areas. There are costs from MPAs, too. Some costs, like the potential for foregone catches when no-take areas are placed on fishing grounds, often become a central focus in the planning of new MPAs. There has been considerable study of the benefits of MPAs: seemingly any MPA-themed conference features multiple papers on fish abundance gains inside reserves. But there has…
The Micronesia Challenge: Assessing Progress Over the Past Two Years
In November 2005, President Tommy Remengesau of Palau challenged his fellow leaders in the Micronesia region of the Pacific Ocean to conserve 30% of their nearshore marine waters by 2020. His “Micronesia Challenge” was intended to help address threats to the region’s marine resources, such as climate change, while positioning Micronesia as a global leader in conservation. Neighboring governments accepted the challenge. Within five months, leaders of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Marshall Islands, as well as the US territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, pledged to meet the 30% target, in addition to…
MPA Perspective: The Outer Continental Shelf: Opportunities for Marine Environmental Protection
Editor’s note: Daniel Owen is a barrister at Fenners Chambers in the UK. He specializes in public law relating to use of the oceans. His essay, below, focuses on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline: the “outer” continental shelf. The term continental shelf has both a legal meaning and a geological and/or geomorphological meaning. It is the legal sense that is considered here. Owen provides the following disclaimer: “The material in this essay is a summary and necessarily involves simplification of a complex area of international law. It should not be relied upon or treated as…
Notes & News
Handbook available on Marxan good practices A new handbook describes good practices in the use of Marxan, a popular free software program used as a decision support tool in marine and terrestrial reserve design. Published by the Pacific Marine Analysis & Research Association (PacMARA), the handbook distills the advice of 25 expert users on issues relevant to systematic conservation planning and the use of support tools like Marxan. Although peer-reviewed internally, it is still open to comments and subject to revision. A final version is expected in early 2009. The Marxan Good Practices Handbook, as well as the previously published…
De Facto MPAs: How They Can Assist Conservation and Resource Management
Many areas of the ocean are off-limits to human activity for reasons other than conservation. Zones around coastal military bases may be completely closed for security purposes. Waters around oil platforms often restrict fishing or access in general. Anchoring is forbidden around undersea cables. These restrictions, by the fact that they limit some human impacts on these ocean sites, provide a degree of protection for the ecosystems there. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as “de facto marine protected areas” – meaning MPAs in practice but not in law. This month, the US National Marine Protected Areas Center…