MPA News
A Brief Guide to Regional MPA Projects in the Caribbean
Several international, inter-related projects are underway in the Caribbean to strengthen the region’s MPAs and MPA networks. Comprising a mix of established and new initiatives, the projects together represent a boom for Caribbean protected area efforts. Below, MPA News presents a brief guide to these initiatives: “Training of Trainers”: Teaching MPA managers Educating MPA professionals on all aspects of planning and management, the fourth regional UNEP-Caribbean Environment Programme “Training of Trainers Course on MPA Management” was held in February 2004 in Long Key, Florida (US). Seventeen students attended from a dozen Spanish-speaking nations. Designed to instruct managers who will in…
Study: Global MPA Network Would Cost $12-14 Billion Annually
Managing a global network of MPAs in which 30% of each habitat type is protected would likely cost US$12-14 billion annually – less than what is spent on international subsidies for commercial fishing, according to researchers. In a study published in June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of UK scientists surveyed the management costs of 83 well-managed marine parks worldwide, then used the findings to model costs for a global MPA system. “Our purpose was to find the price tag of good management and to explore how costs scale up when extensive networks of…
Notes & News
Germany: 38% of marine waters proposed as MPAs More than one third of Germany’s total marine area could consist of MPAs under a national plan to designate 10 sites in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as protected areas. Designed in part to bring Germany into compliance with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, the plan would raise the protected percentage of all of Germany’s marine waters (its EEZ and territorial sea combined) to 38 percent. Germany nominated the 10 sites – located in the Baltic Sea and North Sea – to the European Commission in May. Two of the…
Mixing Oil and Water, Part II: The Offshore Oil & Gas Industry and MPA Planning
Drilling for oil and natural gas from the seabed is significantly more costly than drilling on land, due to engineering and transportation challenges in the marine environment. But as terrestrial petroleum supplies in many nations near or exceed their peak production, the hunt for oil and natural gas is increasingly taking place on the continental shelf, and even in the deep sea. With this expansion in offshore exploration and development, the opportunities for conflict with other resource users increase, as do environmental concerns related to potential oil spills and other pollution. It is up to resource managers to try to…
The Science and Policy of Protecting Spawning Aggregations: An Interview with Yvonne Sadovy
Interview with Yvonne Sadovy, Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations Many commercially important fishes reproduce in spawning aggregations that range in size from just a few individuals to tens of thousands. Because such gatherings can yield large catches and are often easy to locate again once discovered, spawning aggregations are attractive to fishermen. Overexploitation can occur quickly, as has happened for several reef-based species worldwide, like groupers, snappers and emperor fish. A global effort is underway to help protect such aggregations and to raise awareness of the problems of aggregation fishing. Led by the Society for the Conservation…
MPA Perspective: Preparing for Negotiations on Coastal Issues
Editor’s note: Kristy Ellenberg, author of the following perspective piece, is a facilitator, trainer, and environmental consultant. She has developed and taught courses on negotiation and conflict management across the US, including a workshop – “Negotiating for Coastal Resources” – offered by the (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center and the National MPA Center’s Training and Technical Assistance Institute. She has also been involved in an array of negotiations and public processes on land-use issues, coastal resource management, and organizational development. In this perspective piece, Ellenberg advises MPA managers on how to prepare for negotiations. Her advice…
Notes & News
Report available on state-level MPA policies and programs in US A new report is available on state-level MPA policies and programs in the US, with analysis of the potential for future federal/state coordination within a national system of MPAs. Published by the Coastal States Organization in cooperation with the National Marine Protected Areas Center, the report examines potential implications for states from a national MPA system and presents a series of recommendations for building such a system. The findings are based on research and interviews with coastal and ocean managers from the 35 coastal states, territories, and commonwealths. The report…
Australian Parliament Passes Re-Zoning Bill for Great Barrier Reef, Creating World’s Largest Reserve System
The largest marine protected area in the world now also includes the largest network of no-take areas. In late March, the Australian Parliament passed a bill to re-zone the multiple-use Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, setting aside one-third of the 344,000-km2 park as off-limits to all extractive activity. In doing so, legislators created a 115,000-km2 network of no-take zones, representing all 70 marine bioregions throughout the park. (For perspective: The new no-take network is roughly the size of Bulgaria or North Korea. The next largest no-take area is Australia’s 65,000-km2 Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve.) The new zoning…
Mixing Oil and Water, Part I: Examining Interactions Between Offshore Petroleum and MPAs
Discussions of MPAs often focus on the management of fishing inside and outside of protected areas. But the growing presence of another extractive sector – the offshore petroleum industry – contributes its own set of interactions with MPAs, both negative and positive. The 50-year-old industry of exploring and drilling for oil and natural gas from the seafloor continues to expand, with new areas – such as West Africa and Western Canada – either in active development or under consideration for development. As the industry grows, so will its interactions with MPAs. In a two-part series beginning below, MPA News examines…
Measuring MPA Effectiveness: New Guidebook Provides Framework and Cases
This May, a new guidebook on measuring the management effectiveness of MPAs is scheduled for release. Titled How Is Your MPA Doing?, the book aims to help improve management by offering a framework to identify site goals and analyze how well those goals are being achieved. Featured are case studies of 18 MPAs around the world, both tropical and temperate, that used the framework to evaluate their management effectiveness. The book has been co-produced by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas-Marine, the (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The publication…