MPA News
Newsletter to Be Launched on Ecosystem-Based Management; Will Serve as Sister Publication to MPA News
In September 2007, the team that produces MPA News will launch a new publication on ecosystem-based management (EBM) of coastal and marine resources. The publication will serve EBM practitioners in the same way MPA News serves the global MPA field: providing news, analysis, scientific developments, and advice gathered from experts around the world. There is a great need for information on ecosystem approaches to management, a concept that management organizations are increasingly endorsing worldwide. The fundamental idea of EBM is simple: elements of an ecosystem are interconnected (including species, habitats, and the ecosystem services they offer) so it makes sense…
Planners Discuss Role of Science and Socioeconomics in California MPA-Planning Process
The initiative to create a network of MPAs off the coast of the US state of California completed its first phase in April, with final designation of 29 MPAs along the state’s central coast (MPA News 8:10). There are more phases to come. The second one, addressing the north central coast, was launched this past February; the north coast and south coast phases will follow in coming years. This multi-stage approach to implementing California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) allows for distilling lessons learned along the way and applying them in ensuing phases. In fact, the first phase of the…
MPA Perspective: Challenges Faced by the Global MPA Field
Editor’s note: Jeff Ardron is scientific advisor on MPAs for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, and Northeast Atlantic regional coordinator for the Marine Program of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA-Marine). He is also vice-president of the Pacific Marine Analysis and Research Association (PacMARA). This essay reflects Ardron’s personal views. It does not reflect the views of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, WCPA-Marine, or PacMARA. By Jeff Ardron I was invited by MPA News to provide my view on where I think the international MPA community stands at this point: what the biggest challenges are…
Notes & News
Indonesia protects local fisheries with seven MPAs In May, the Indonesian government formally designated a network of seven MPAs in the Raja Ampat archipelago, encompassing 45% of the region’s diverse shallow-water ecosystems, including coral reefs and mangroves. The network, totaling 9000 km2, is designed to help manage the fisheries of Raja Ampat and maintain food security for the local populace, which holds marine tenure over the reefs. Although site regulations are not yet finalized, there is a general target to set aside 20% of each MPA in no-take zones. Traditional fishing methods will be allowed to continue in the remaining…
MPA Tip: Managing Visitor Impact
“MPA Tip” is a recurring feature in MPA News that presents advice on planning and management gathered from various publications on protected areas. The purpose is two-fold: to provide useful guidance to practitioners, and to serve as a reminder of valuable literature in the MPA field. The following tip was adapted by MPA News from Managing Marine Protected Areas: A Toolkit for the Western Indian Ocean (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association [WIOMSA], 2004). Consisting of a series of themed briefs, the toolkit offers guidance on a diverse array of topics, from planning and financing to setting up a radio…
Do We Really Need 50 Ways to Say “Marine Protected Area”?: Views on MPA Terminology, and Efforts to Categorize MPAs
The global assortment of terms and definitions for MPAs can be, in a word, confusing. A recent paper for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas compiled a list of more than 50 terms used for various marine and coastal protected areas – from marine reserve and marine sanctuary, to marine park, marine refuge, marine monument, habitat management area, habitat protection zone, protected seascape, sensitive sea area,strict nature reserve, coastal preserve, etc. (“IUCN Categories: Their Application in Marine Protected Areas”, p. 9, http://groups.google.com/group/wcpamarine-summit/web) So many terms are used to denote MPAs that it can be puzzling even to experienced practitioners, not…
Update on WCPA-Marine Summit: Guidebook Released on Establishing MPA Networks; “Wet List” and Action Plan to Come
A new guidebook summarizing key points in building MPA networks was released in April at the summit meeting of the marine program of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA-Marine), a gathering that was previewed in the April 2007 MPA News. The 16-page guide “Establishing Marine Protected Area Networks: Making It Happen” offers a concise synopsis of factors necessary for effective network design, including ecological criteria, best practices for planning, and other considerations. It is intended to show briefly how to transform policy aspirations into practical action, and is not meant to be exhaustive. A full technical report to…
Agreement Places Strict Limits on Bottom Trawling in South Pacific
In a move to protect deep-sea ecosystems, more than 20 nations have agreed to strict, voluntary limits on the practice of bottom trawling on the high seas of the South Pacific region. The agreement calls for closure of areas to bottom fishing where vulnerable ecosystems – including seamounts and cold-water corals – are known to exist or likely to occur. Because bottom-trawling activity in the region focuses on seamounts, the accord could effectively end this fishing practice in the South Pacific. The agreement takes effect on 30 September 2007 and will apply to the signatory nations. Observers and vessel-monitoring systems…
Letter to the Editor: Mobile MPAs good for more than just highly migratory species
Dear MPA News: The article on “mobile MPAs” in your March edition (MPA News 8:8) addresses a timely and important topic. Although this concept of no-take reserves with flexible boundaries is discussed in the context of protecting highly migratory species on the open ocean, the tool could be applied to other species and ecosystem types as well. The essence of ecosystem-based management is that the ocean is a dynamic system. As evidence of this dynamism: Spawning grounds, nursery grounds, and larval transport pathways are often not fixed in space; Overlap between predator and prey populations is constantly fluctuating; and Climate…
Notes & News
IMPAC1 proceedings released Proceedings from the First International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1), held October 2005 in Australia, are now available. Among the most comprehensive collections of MPA information ever compiled, the document totals 665 pages and includes abstracts from all IMPAC1 presentations, as well as full text of the meeting’s plenary addresses. The entire range of MPA issues is covered: planning, management, science, and more. The proceedings are downloadable in PDF format for free at http://www.impacongress.org/proceedings.htm. The file, 19 MB in size, is searchable by author, keyword, theme, and other criteria. It also includes a list of delegates with…