Marine Protected Areas: Protecting the Ocean for Sustainable Development
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Introduction
A marine protected area (MPA) is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. Many MPAs allow people to use the area in ways that do not damage the environment. Some ban fishing. A few do not allow people to enter the area at all.
MPAs have been established because the ocean and the things that live in it face many dangers. Threats to the ocean include overfishing, litter, water pollution, and global climate change. These threats have caused a decline in the population of many fish, marine mammals, and other sea creatures.
Marine protected areas can have many different names, including marine parks, marine conservation zones, marine reserves, marine sanctuaries, and no-take zones. More than 5,000 MPAs have been established around the world. Together, they cover a little more than 8 percent of the ocean as of 2023.
Types of Marine Protected Areas
Marine protected areas can be established in a variety of aquatic habitats. Some MPAs are in the open ocean. Many MPAs protect coastlines. Others cover estuaries, places where rivers enter the sea. In estuaries, freshwater and saltwater mix. Some freshwater habitats, including protected areas in the Great Lakes, are also considered MPAs.
Goals of MPAs
Different MPAs have different goals. The main focus of many MPAs is to protect marine habitats and the variety of life that they support. For example, the Galápagos Marine Reserve protects a series of small islands and the surrounding waters. This reserve includes a tremendous variety of habitats, from coral reefs to cold ocean currents to mangrove swamps. The waters around the Galápagos are home to 3,000 different plant and animal species.
Some MPAs focus on conserving historic sites such as shipwrecks. The USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was established to protect the remains of a warship that sank during the United States Civil War.
Other MPAs are established to ensure that resources are sustainable—that they will not run out. By having limits that prevent overfishing, these MPAs ensure that fish can reproduce and maintain healthy populations. Georges Bank, off the coast of New England and Nova Scotia, Canada, was once one of the world’s greatest fisheries. But after several MPAs were established, fish populations began to increase, and fishing improved.
Levels of Protection
Different MPAs provide different levels of protection. The strictest type of MPA allows no human entry at all. This not only prevents people from fishing but also prevents people from disturbing delicate habitats. No-entry MPAs tend to be small and are often used for research.
Other MPAs are less strict. In a no-take MPA, fishing and collecting are not allowed, but people can travel through the area and use it for recreation, such as snorkeling or swimming.
In multiple-use MPAs, the area is protected, but some fishing is allowed. Many national parks, such as Acadia National Park in the U.S. state of Maine, are multiple-use MPAs.
Many MPAs are divided up into different zones. In some zones, fishing is allowed, while in other zones, people might not be permitted entry at all. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is divided into zones. Some of these zones allow recreational and commercial fishing, while about one-third of the park has strict rules against fishing.
Establishing an MPA
National governments establish many MPAs. State, local, and tribal governments also establish MPAs. For example, the U.S. state of California has established the Point Lobos State Marine Reserve to protect underwater canyons and kelp forests. The Quileute Tribe of the U.S. state of Washington works with the federal government to keep the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary a sustainable fishery.
Sometimes, national governments work together to establish an MPA that crosses borders. Italy, France, and Monaco together established the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals.
At some MPAs, the level of protection remains the same year-round. At others, people are only barred from an area during certain seasons, often when vital species are breeding. For example, in the Irish Sea, fishing is controlled during cod spawning season to conserve the cod population.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators in the Article
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 14: Life Below Water – This goal focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
- SDG 15: Life on Land – This goal aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, including forests and biodiversity.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 14.5: By 2020, conserve at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.
- SDG 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Indicator for SDG 14.5: Proportion of coastal and marine areas protected by effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, and well-connected systems of protected areas.
- Indicator for SDG 15.5: Red List Index, which measures trends in the overall extinction risk of species.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 14: Life Below Water | Target 14.5: By 2020, conserve at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information. | Proportion of coastal and marine areas protected by effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, and well-connected systems of protected areas. |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. | Red List Index, which measures trends in the overall extinction risk of species. |
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Fuente: education.nationalgeographic.org
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