National and Regional Networks of marine protected areas: a review of progress

Abstract

Most of the marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world, estimated to number about 5000, have been established both on an ad hoc basis and through systematic planning processes. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) requires that Party states establish, by 2012, comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of protected areas, and that there should be effective conservation of at least 10% of each of the world's ecological regions by 2010. Many countries have established their own national targets which provide an incentive for the introduction of a systematic conservation planning approach to the establishment of MPAs, and there are now many initiatives to develop ecologically representative MPA networks. This report reviews the progress being made, using information from the literature, MPA practitioners and planners, and conservation experts.