Applying Marine Protected Area Frameworks to Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide a range of ecological benefits. Frameworks—including the IUCN protected area categories and The MPA Guide —offer tools towards evaluating an MPA’s objectives, types, Level of Protection, and potential effectiveness. However, the majority of MPAs exist in nat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability
Main Authors: Emily S. Nocito, Jenna Sullivan-Stack, Elizabeth P. Pike, Kristina M. Gjerde, Cassandra M. Brooks
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
marine protected areas
areas beyond national jurisdiction
BBNJ
CCAMLR
Antarctica
level of protection
Environmental effects of industries and plants
TD194-195
Renewable energy sources
TJ807-830
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105971
https://doaj.org/article/100f6387fbb148e895b0f2dc9cc180af
Description
Summary:Marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide a range of ecological benefits. Frameworks—including the IUCN protected area categories and The MPA Guide —offer tools towards evaluating an MPA’s objectives, types, Level of Protection, and potential effectiveness. However, the majority of MPAs exist in national waters, raising the question of how these frameworks apply in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). We evaluated the existing ABNJ MPAs in the Antarctic designated through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) using the two above mentioned frameworks. The newly released The MPA Guide , which complements guidance from the IUCN protected area categories, provides perhaps the most exhaustive framework as it seeks to evaluate implementation, enabling conditions, and outcomes. The CCAMLR MPAs ranged from Category 1A (for IUCN)/Highly Protected (for The MPA Guide ) to Category IV (for IUCN)/Lightly Protected (for The MPA Guide ) due to differences in management objectives and activities occurring within the zones of the MPAs. Given ongoing negotiations for a new international, legally binding treaty for high seas biodiversity, evaluating an MPA using these existing frameworks will prove useful to allow for a full comprehensive picture of an MPA and what it can expect to achieve.

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