Marine Protected Areas: Part 1

Now that I have finished dazzling you with all those impacts on coral reefs, I am going to start to blog about ways that can reduce the impacts detailed in the previous posts. The first of which being Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). I have been aware of this BBC news article for some time but it is only now that I unleash it on you readers as it seems like the most appropriate moment. This report details that MPAs will increase to 10% of global ocean area by 2020 after a UN meeting in Hyderabad. The figure for MPAs currently stands at 2.3% but the article states that it is highly likely that the above target will be met.  The use of MPAs has become increasingly popular as a means to protect all organisms in a delineated area. For example, The Cook Islands and New Caledonia added 2.5 million sq km of MPAs, whilst Australia added 2.7 million sq km to existing protected areas.

What's the crack on MPAs?

I have found a two-part video that focusses on MPAs in the state of California. It is an extremely informative video that is not too long so please have a watch below. It covers what MPAs are, where they are in California, how they are devised and the issues surrounding them.

 

Below is a more recent video from The Nature Conservancy detailing the rules behind MPA creation.

These rules are generally not too dissimilar to those stated in the previous videos but are more specific in terms of numbers (for Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea). This video also speaks about the role of networks and how they are of benefit for the movement of species. It is encouraging to see that it did work despite the numerous repetition of "we had no idea what we were doing" and "we made it up as we went along".

Whilst this information is useful to know, are MPAs actually any good at preventing coral loss and what can they realistically protect against? Also, are MPAs being established in the right areas where they are needed the most? All will be revealed in good time!

Hang tight,

Seb