MPA News
MPA-related commitments from the ‘Our Ocean’ conference, held in Bali in October 2018
In the past half-decade, the annual Our Ocean conference has become the primary venue for nations and NGOs to announce new commitments to more sustainable ocean management, including the designation of new MPAs. Examples of MPA-related commitments from past conferences are here and here (for the latter, scroll to the bottom). The latest conference – held in Bali, Indonesia, from 29-30 October – continued this trend. For a full list of commitments made at the 2018 Our Ocean conference, click here. Below is an excerpt of some of the MPA-related highlights: UNESCO World Heritage Programme announced a new, US $9-million initiative…
Perspective: Twenty new MPAs for South Africa!
By Kerry Sink and Tamsyn Livingstone
On 25 October 2018, South Africa announced that the nation’s Cabinet approved 20 new marine protected areas for designation in 2019. The announcement represented the long-awaited implementation of the Operation Phakisa Oceans Economy Marine Protected Area Network. This establishes South Africa as a leader in African ocean protection, and contributes to protection of both the Southeast Atlantic and the Southwest Indian Ocean – a uniquely South African opportunity!
MPA Science Corner: Marine mammals and MPAs – Plastics and MPAs – Coral reef soundscapes – Population assessments with ROVs – Systematic conservation planning
These recent articles or preprints on MPA-related science and policy are all free to access. Article: Passadore, C., Möller, L. M., Diaz-Aguirre, F., and Parra, G. J. Modelling Dolphin Distribution to Inform Future Spatial Conservation Decisions in a Marine Protected Area. Scientific Reports 8, (2018). Finding: Bottlenose dolphins in Australia’s Coffin Bay, a part of Thorny Passage Marine Park, are most likely to be found outside designated sanctuary zones, where there are multiple uses including vessel traffic, recreational fishing, and oyster farming. The latter, particularly, put them at risk of entanglement with gear. The results demonstrate a broader need to…
Notes & News: MPAs as economic drivers – Antarctica – GLORES awards – New coral reef map – Islands in MPAs – MPA readings – MPA News vault
European Commission study finds MPAs create jobs and business opportunities A new study by the European Commission finds that MPAs can generate an array of direct and indirect economic benefits – including jobs and business opportunities – for industry sectors and surrounding communities. As a result, well-managed MPAs should be viewed as being at the core of building a blue economy. The study, which includes 10 cases, notes that the design and management of MPAs are key factors in whether such benefits happen. “Economic benefits may be more likely to materialize if they are planned for as a component of…
Perspective: First reports from comprehensive, in-depth study of a large remote MPA
By Rachel Jones
On 11 September 2018 the Bertarelli Foundation hosted its first Marine Science Symposium at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The event was a showcase for the first full year of activities in the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science – a program that focuses entirely on the 644,000-km2 British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) marine protected area, which includes the Chagos Archipelago.
MPA Training in a Nutshell: On governance
By Anne Nelson and the IMPACT team
Our IMPACT training team has spent a lot of time lately on building capacity for good governance. Good governance may be viewed as applying a set of internationally accepted principles for governing protected areas. These include equity, inclusivity, accountability, efficiency, responsiveness, transparency, and more.1 MPAs that effectively apply these good governance principles can have sustained support and resiliency, and can meet multiple community and conservation goals.
MPA Science Corner: Blue Economy – Coral bleaching – Effectiveness of community-based MPAs – MPAs in Oceania – MPA targets – Large-scale MPAs
These recent articles or preprints on MPA-related science and policy are all free to access. Preprint: Voyer, M., et al. Shades of blue: what do competing interpretations of the Blue Economy mean for oceans governance? Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 20, 595 – 616 (2018). Finding: This paper examines different interpretations and applications of the term blue economy, in which oceans are viewed variously as a source of natural capital; as opportunities for proverty reduction; or as the basis for major maritime industry sectors. Areas of consensus and conflict in these definitions are explored. Article: Jackson, R., Gabric, A….
Notes & News: Arctic Ocean closure – US marine monuments – High seas – Funding for turtle MPAs – Funding for Med MPAs – Ocean Awards – Ocean safari – Vote for Australia’s natural wonders – MPA News vault
Commercial fishing moratorium in central Arctic Ocean is signed Eight nations met in Greenland in October to sign a historic formal agreement, first announced in November 2017, that bans commercial fishing across much of the Arctic for the next 16 years. Although there has been no fishing in the 2.8 million km2 region yet, rapidly melting sea ice is now opening up the high seas waters for fishing and other commercial activities. The agreement marks one of the first times nations have proactively protected a marine ecosystem before commercial fishing commenced, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. The signatories – Canada,…
Unique study of partially protected MPAs offers new insights on when they protect biodiversity and when they do not
Most of the world’s MPAs are partially protected: they restrict some extractive activities but allow others. For planners and decision-makers – especially in regions where extractive resource use is high – partially protected MPAs can be easier to designate than no-take areas. The partial protection indicates to resource users that socioeconomic and conservation objectives have been balanced. How even that balance is, though, can depend on how partial the protection is. For example, an MPA that bans nearly all extraction might be expected to be better at conservation than one that allows nearly all extractive activities. But beyond such a…
A compilation of resources and trainings on MPA design and management, across education levels (from MPA professionals to general public)
In 2016, the EBM Tools Network compiled a list of hands-on, online activities for teaching about ecosystem services and ecosystem-based management that has since been updated with several more activities. Recently, a university professor asked the Network if any similar online resources existed for teaching MPA design and management. EBM Tools Network members pooled their collective knowledge again and came up with a list of resources for teaching about MPAs at all educational levels.
To that list, MPA News has added a compilation of in-person training opportunities that are aimed at MPA professionals. The combined list of resources and trainings is below.