International

Around the world only 0.8% of the world’s oceans are protected, and possibly less than 0.08% is in fully protected marine reserves. To view how the world is performning on reserving its oceans go to www.protectplanetocean.org

This embarrassingly poor level of protection, combined with the increasingly obvious degraded state of the oceans health, has prompted many governments to take more action on marine protection. At a diplomatic level, governments reached international agreement at the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2004 to protect at least 10% of each marine region around the world by 2012. If achieved this would be a significant step towards reaching the target set by the World Parks Congress of 2003, to establish a global system of effectively managed, representative networks of marine and coastal protected areas by 2012, that are extensive and include strictly protected areas that amount to at least 20-30% of each habitat.

The value of marine national parks are recognised globally as a means to protect biodiversity and improve sustainable use of marine resources internationally. Support for them is growing…

In the United States, there has been recognition of the vital role that marine protected areas in conservation of species and, most urgently, as key tools of defence against the effects of climate change. While the US inventory records almost 1700 MPAs of various sizes, the lack of a coordinated strategy for their management led to a Presidential request in 2000 to develop a national system of marine protected areas. In 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency established the MPA Centre to implement their national Marine Protected Areas system. Beginning with a pilot study on the coast of California, Oregon and Washington state, consultation with state, national, tribal and commercial stakeholders has been ongoing.

In New Zealand, there are over 30 marine reserves protecting 7.6% of the country’s waters, with some excellent stories of success (see Leigh Reserve Case Study). However these reserves do not offer comprehensive or representative protection and so they too are pursuing a more thorough approach to a network of MPAs, using as its key components:

  • A consistent approach to classification of the marine habitats and ecosystems
  • Mechanisms to coordinate a range of management tools
  • Inventory to identify areas where MPAs are required
  • A nationally consistent basis for planning and establishing new MPAs