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Safeguarding Critical Ocean Habitats - Facts about Marine Protected Areas



Fact Sheet: Safeguarding Critical Ocean Habitats - Facts about Marine Protected Areas

January 12th, 1998

What is a marine protected area?
Marine protected areas range from small, highly regulated reserves that protect threatened species and maintain natural processes to larger multiple-use areas in which conservation is coupled with socio-economic activities and concerns. As there are many different roles for marine protected areas, so there are many different names, such as marine park, marine reserve, marine sanctuary, the same names often being interpreted differently in different countries.  However, the basic concept of a marine protected area is understood worldwide: an area of sea, sometimes with its associated coastal area, which is protected from damaging human activities either by law or by other effective means, such as traditional customs or voluntary agreements. Why do we need marine protected areas?

Less than one percent of the planet's marine surface has been designated as protected, compared to over six percent of the land surface. The need for marine protected areas to safeguard endangered species, essential fisheries habitat, and key breeding and migration sites, has never been so urgent.  Marine protected areas also play an essential role in sustaining commercially and locally important fisheries, reducing conflict between different users of the marine environment, regulating tourism and leisure activities, and providing alternative sources of income through the creation of jobs.

WWF sees the establishment of a global network of ecologically representative, well-managed marine protected areas as an essential component of successful management of coastal and marine resources. These  should be established to protect critical habitats of threatened and commercially important marine species, critical ecological processes, and representative samples of natural coastal and offshore habitat.

How can marine protected areas help fisheries management?
The establishment of no-fishing areas, either as marine protected areas themselves, or as zones within multiple-use protected areas, should also be strongly encouraged.  Recent scientific work has shown the value of this approach as a fisheries management tool.  Fish stocks build up rapidly, and the size of target species increases once an area is protected.  The larvae of protected stocks are carried outside the boundaries of the no-fishing area to replenish fishing grounds, and there is evidence for migration of adults and juveniles across the boundaries as stocks build up inside the area.

How well are marine protected areas managed?
Fewer than 50% of existing marine protected areas are effectively managed.  Reasons for this include insufficient financial and technical resources and trained staff, lack of public support due to failure to involve stakeholders in the establishment and management of the area, inadequate enforcement of regulations, and impacts from activities taking place outside the boundaries. Local communities have unique knowledge and experience of the area, can play a role in enforcement and monitoring, and may be able to benefit economically from the protected area, thus taking pressure off over-exploited marine resources. Marine protected areas work best when developed within the context of an integrated coastal management plan.  Such a framework can take into account the fluid nature of the marine environment, impacts that originate far from the protected area such as land-based sources of pollution, and the migratory characteristics of many marine species such as turtles, seabirds, and whales.

To ensure the implementation of a global network of marine protected areas, WWF is therefore calling for:

  •    The establishment of new marine parks and reserves to safeguard threatened species and their habitats, including offshore areas, transboundary protected areas and cetacean sanctuaries.

  •    Improved management of existing marine protected areas, and establishment of  appropriate financial mechanisms to ensure their long-term viability.

  •    Designation of no-fishing zones to safeguard marine ecosystems on which commercial fish species depend, to serve as an *insurance policy' against overfishing, and to give depleted fish populations a chance to recover.

  •    The incorporation of marine and coastal protected areas within a broader framework of integrated coastal management and multiple use planning.