The Ocean Needs More Protected Areas – How Marine Spatial Planning Can Help

By: Alexandra Smith

The ocean is a vast, complex realm that is difficult to manage. It becomes even more challenging to manage when you consider that each country has its own Exclusive Economic Zone, borders, trade boundaries, and an array of activities happening at all times, such as fishing, tourism, energy, and aquaculture. As humans’ use of the ocean intensifies, plans must be put in place to curb harmful effects and spatial conflicts. Luckily, there are emerging, effective ways to manage the ocean. Marine spatial planning, or MSP, aims to organize and simplify the use of ocean space by managing human activities to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives.

© WWF Guianas msp_logo_7_636168.png

Many people immediately think of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) when they think of Marine Spatial Planning. MPAs are simply an outcome of marine spatial planning, and not all marine spatial plans include MPAs. MPAs are protected, zoned areas whose main objective is marine conservation. MPA protections vary widely, ranging from fully protected marine reserves that prohibit all human intervention to multiple-use MPAs where fishing, boating, diving, and more activities are permitted. MPAs are critical in mitigating the harmful effects of climate change — for example, protecting an area with mangroves allows coastlines to be more resilient to storm surges. MPAs may also provide an area of reduced stress for marine organisms, making it easier for them to adapt to climate change. And, of course, protected areas give scientists a pristine setting, in a sense untouched by humans, to study organisms.  

A pristine underwater environment Source: Unsplash 

The Campaign for Nature – a collaboration between conservation organizations and scientists – coined the term “30 by 30” to describe the initiative that calls on world leaders to protect 30% of the ocean (and 30% of land) by 2030. The initiative also aims to improve financial resources for better MPA management and fully integrate indigenous opinions and rights into the process. 

The world is a ways away from the 30 by 30 goal: currently, 7.65% of the ocean is protected, and only 1.9% is fully protected with exclusively no-take MPAs. It is much simpler to create MPAs in waters governed by a specific country – areas with national jurisdiction. These areas make up 39% of the global ocean. However, the other 61% of the ocean lies in an area beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), meaning no single country is responsible for or has control over these waters. The world has to work together cohesively to incorporate MPAs into ABNJ. Only seven countries have established 80% of the world’s MPAs, highlighting the need for global cooperation to include marine spatial planning in the high seas.

Marine Protected Areas around the world covering 7.65% of the ocean. Source: UNEP-WCMC / IUCN

Recent reports led by hundreds of economists and scientists have concluded that the global economy would benefit from more protected marine (and land) areas. So much so that by their calculations, the benefits outweigh the costs by at least 5-1. In their paper, Anthony Waldron et al. even point out that protecting natural areas reduces the risk of novel zoonotic disease outbreaks (like COVID-19!). 

Marine spatial planning (especially in coastal communities) can improve MPA management and help meet global objectives such as biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Planning for MPAs is extremely important because many are understaffed and lack the resources necessary for implementing conservation and management measures. 

There are increasingly more studies coming out that provide a foundation for marine spatial planning. Last year, Birkmanis et al. published findings that concluded that vulnerable pelagic shark species’ habitats are found primarily in areas highly susceptible to fishing pressures, not in no-take MPAs. The vulnerability of these sharks is potentially even higher than previously thought. This data provides a valuable foundation for future marine spatial planning to be used to place no-take MPAs properly. 

You can show support for the 30x30 initiative by signing this petition. 

References

Birkmanis, C.A. et al. (2020). Shark conservation hindered by lack of habitat protection. Global Ecology and Conservation V. 21, e00862.

“Campaign For Nature.” Campaign for Nature, www.campaignfornature.org/home. 

“Marine Protected Areas and Climate Change.” IUCN, 5 Dec. 2018, www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/marine-protected-areas-and-climate-change. 

Protected planet “Marine Protected Areas.” Protected Planet, www.protectedplanet.net/en/thematic-areas/marine-protected-areas.  

 “Protecting 30% of the Planet for Nature: Economic Analysis.” Campaign for Nature, www.campaignfornature.org/protecting-30-of-the-planet-for-nature-economic-analysis. 

Santos Catarina Frazão, et al. “Marine Spatial Planning.” World Seas: an Environmental Evaluation (Second Edition), Academic Press, 21 Sept. 2018, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128050521000334?via%3Dihub. 

“Sign the 30x30 Petition Today!” Campaign for Nature, www.campaignfornature.org/petition. 

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is a Marine Protect?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 1 June 2013, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mpa.html. 

Waldron, Anthony & Adams, Vanessa & Allan, James & Arnell, Andy & Palacios Abrantes, Juliano & Atkinson, Scott & Baccini, A. & Jonathan, & Baillie, E & Balmford, Andrew & Austin, J & Brander, Luke & Brondízio, Eduardo & Bruner, Aaron & Neil, & Burkart, Karl & Butchart, Stuart & Rio, & Zhang, Yp. (2020). Protecting 30 percent of the planet: Costs, benefits and economic implications. 10.13140/RG.2.2.19950.64327.