Series · 10 videos
What happens on this remote continent will impact communities around the world. Three new marine protected areas would offer much-needed resilience to climate change.
Series · 10 videos
What happens on this remote continent will impact communities around the world. Three new marine protected areas would offer much-needed resilience to climate change.
The ocean is home to an unfathomable diversity of marine life and plays a crucial role in regulating the Earth's climate. Yet human activities like fishing, mining, and drilling continue to cause significant harm to these delicate ecosystems. This is where strong levels of marine protection come in — specifically highly or fully protected marine areas.
Image © Michele Roux / Ocean Image Bank
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one of the most effective tools we have for protecting the ocean and increasing the resilience of species both within these areas and in the surrounding environment. In these carefully-selected, designated areas of the ocean, human activities that harm marine life are either prohibited or extremely restricted. They can be established by any combination of governments, NGOs, or community groups depending on the circumstances. Marine protected areas come in different forms and operate under different levels of management. This ranges from highly or fully protected areas, where all damaging interventions are prohibited, to minimally protected areas, where many disruptive human activities are still permitted.
High protection marine areas
Marine protected areas under high or full protection put in place some of the highest levels of safeguarding for ocean ecosystems: they are entirely protected areas where no damaging human activities are allowed, including fishing, mining, and oil and gas development. Science tells us that highly protected marine areas are essential for long-term ocean health and resilience, as they enable species to thrive without interference from human activities.
This definition of high or full protection comes from the Marine Conservation Institute and falls in line with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area categories Ia and Ib.
Less than 3% of the world’s ocean is currently designated with high or full protection, making increased implementation of these areas a critical goal for achieving 30×30. It is also paramount to ensure that governments implement fully protected areas with the participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities. This must be a vital part of our commitment to 30×30: as stewards of the land and ocean and key knowledge-holders, Indigenous communities lead initiatives that have proven to be both effective and equitable.
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