Global shift in marine protected area analysis and reporting - UNEP-WCMC (original) (raw)

News

• News | Sep 2017

UNEP-WCMC & IUCN have launched Marine Protected Planet Interactive - the world’s most authoritative and ambitious platform for information about ocean protection. Marine Protected Areas cover 6.35% of the ocean.

Several large-scale marine protected areas have been announced in recent months. Marine Protected Planet Interactive for the first time tells the story behind the headlines and will enable a scaling up of ambition for global marine conservation. Users can access data about the spatial location and size of protected areas. Further efforts are underway to develop standards in measuring the equity and effectiveness in protected areas management. By combining this information with other datasets, UNEP-WCMC can advise governments and other stakeholders on whether marine protected areas are representing habitats of critical importance.

Data and insights from the World Database on Protected Areas; the only global database on officially designated protected areas, which is curated by UNEP-WCMC, has been transformed into this unique dynamic resource. It reveals new layers of information on Marine Protected Areas and will include the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas - the IUCN Green List Standard - which is a new global standard for protected areas. It will also track conservation commitments by countries and track progress towards global biodiversity targets such as Aichi target 11.

Brian MacSharry, UNEP-WCMC Data Manager and Senior Programme Manager, launching Marine Protected Planet Interactive said:

“This is a new era for reporting on Marine Protected Areas. For the first time anyone can access and interact with a wide range of up to date information about marine protected areas, produced from data compiled through a robust methodology. Our dedicated team of experts collate, analyse and verify information every month and update figures and trends making this the go-to resource in marine conservation.”

Facts and figures about Marine Protected Areas (MPAs):

• 23 million km² (or 6.35%) of the ocean are covered by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), a ten-fold increase since 2000 when the area covered by MPAs was approximately 2 million km² (or 0.7%) of the Ocean.
• 14 million km² of MPAs have been added since 2010, driven in a large part by the expansion of existing sites, and creation of very large new sites.
• The 10 largest sites cover over 50% of the area covered by marine protected areas.
• Recent accelerated designation of MPAs focused on national waters (39% of the global ocean) – at 0.25% the High Seas are poorly covered by MPAs

For more information contact: brian.macsharry@unep-wcmc.org www.unep-wcmc.org

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