National and international government agencies protect ocean biodiversity and marine wildlife by creating marine protected areas. So what are marine protected areas? Read on as we highlight this important ocean conservation tool, how Pacific Environment partners with local communities and governments and ways you can help.
Like national parks, marine protected areas — or MPAs — are dedicated spaces of the ocean set aside for protection of beautiful and unique marine habitat and the wildlife that live there. They are located all around the world, including the United States, though many are found near the equator in tropical countries where biodiversity is most abundant.
MPAs protect mangroves and seagrasses that sequester carbon and can help mitigate climate change and its effects. Fish populations in MPAs can replenish, providing income for coastal fishing communities. MPAs create habitats that attract larger marine species like whales, sea turtles and sharks that can lead to more tourism dollars into local economies.
These benefits make the establishment of MPAs an important tool to reach the Global Diversity Framework’s 30×30 target, an international initiative agreed to by more than 100 nations to protect 30% of Earth’s land and ocean areas by 2030.
Pacific Environment works with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand to establish new MPAs and make existing ones more effective. We support these governments as they work with communities so that everyone can benefit from MPA establishment and ensure they are more successful.
Our programs support hands-on approaches to MPA management, including helping communities to preserve sea turtle nesting sites and cleaning up marine debris found in MPAs.
We take a local and global approach to MPA conservation: working with local communities living near MPAs as well as advocating for stronger MPA policies at the international level and during United Nations events.
Get involved locally: Help keep beaches and the ocean near you clean by participating in local beach clean-ups. Organizations such as Surfrider Foundation and California Coastal Commission share alerts about upcoming beach clean-ups — take a look for any in your area!
Marine protected areas are a central part of our work here at Pacific Environment. We will continue our efforts to strengthen MPAs through grassroots advocacy, international collaboration and more to protect these essential components of our oceans — and we hope you will support us along the way!
