Marine Protected Areas: Science, Policy and Management addresses a full spectrum of issues relating to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) not currently available in any other single volume. Chapters are contributed by a wide range of working specialists who examine conceptions and definitions of MPAs, progress on the implementation of worldwide MPAs, policy and legal variations across MPAs, the general importance of coastal communities in implementation, and the future of MPAs. The book constructively elucidates conflicts, issues, approaches and solutions in a way that creates a balanced consideration of the nature of effective policy and management. Those in theory, designation, implementation or management of MPAs, from individuals, marine sector organizations, and university and research center libraries will find it an important work.

Although the ocean-and the resources within-seem limitless, there is clear evidence that human impacts such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the long-term productivity of the seas. Declining yields in many fisheries and decay of treasured marine habitats, such as coral reefs, has heightened interest in establishing a comprehensive system of marine protected areas (MPAs)-areas designated for special protection to enhance the management of marine resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to evaluate how MPAs can be employed in the United States and internationally as tools to support specific conservation needs of marine and coastal waters. Marine Protected Areas compares conventional management of marine resources with proposals to augment these management strategies with a system of protected areas. The volume argues that implementation of MPAs should be incremental and adaptive, through the design of areas not only to conserve resources, but also to help us learn how to manage marine species more effectively.

This book is a critical analysis of the concept of marine protected areas (MPAs) particularly as a tool for marine resource management. It explains the reasons for the extraordinary rise of MPAs to the top of the political agenda for marine policy, and evaluates the scientific credentials for the unprecedented popularity of this management option. The book reveals the role played by two policy networks – epistemic community and advocacy coalition – in promoting the notion of MPA, showing how advocacy for marine reserves by some scientists based on limited evidence of fisheries benefits has led to a blurring of the boundary between science and politics. Second, the study investigates whether the scientific consensus on MPAs has resulted in a publication bias, whereby pro-MPA articles are given preferential treatment by peer-reviewed academic journals, though it found only limited evidence of such a bias. Third, the project conducts a systematic review of the literature to determine the ecological effects of MPAs, and reaches the conclusion that there is little proof of a positive impact on finfish populations in temperate waters. Fourth, the study uses discourse analysis to trace the effects of a public campaigning policy network on marine conservation zones (MCZs) in England, which demonstrated that there was considerable confusion over the objectives that MCZs were being designated to achieve. The book’s conclusion is that the MPA issue shows the power of ideas in marine governance, but offers a caution that scientists who cross the line between science and politics risk exaggerating the benefits of MPAs by glossing over uncertainties in the data, which may antagonise the fishing industry, delay resolution of the MPA issue, and weaken public faith in marine science if and when the benefits of MCZs are subsequently seen to be limited.

This document contains the report of the workshop and the background papers commissioned for the meeting. The report, and in particular the 'Key Points' adopted by the workshop, will serve as basis for further work on developing technical guidelines for the design, implementation and review of MPAs.

This book presents a novel examination of Marine Protected Areas within a security context, bridging science, policy, and geopolitics, and addressing the often-under-emphasized aspect of environmental justice. The book argues that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are not only a critical tool for protecting marine biodiversity in a changing climate, but they also play an important role at the intersection of geopolitics and environmental justice, and they provide a case study of environmental governance at the science-policy interface. The book takes an interdisciplinary and critical approach and builds on the author's two decades of experience working in this field. Geopolitically, it explores the ways in which MPAs provide footprints for influence and access to resources far from home for nations with overseas territories. MPAs also raise important issues connected to equity, environmental justice, and social justice, including access to resources and participation in environmental decision-making processes, key aspects for achieving long-term conservation goals. The book also demonstrates how MPAs are a critical lens for understanding how policy makers cope with scientific uncertainty, and the necessity of well-designed and precautionary science advisory processes. While the ecological contribution of MPAs is paramount, social issues and geopolitical considerations are often less obvious in the discourse underpinning MPAs, and the resulting tensions can undermine long-term conservation objectives. By applying the three lenses of geopolitics, environmental justice and science, this book provides key insights to help the international community moving past the 2030 biodiversity targets and beyond, towards a future of meaningful, equitable, and effective conservation approaches. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of biodiversity conservation, marine studies, political geography, environmental governance, and science-policy studies. It will also be of interest to marine conservation governance professionals and policymakers.

With the health of the world’s oceans threatened as never before, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a vitally important role in protecting marine and coastal habitats. Management of Marine Protected Areas: A Network Perspective draws on the results of a major EU-sponsored research project related to the establishment of networks of MPAs in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that transpired from February 2011 to January 2016. Featuring contributions by leading university- and national research institute-based scientists, chapters utilize the latest research data and developments in marine conservation policy to explore issues related to ways in which networks of MPAs may amplify the effectiveness and conservation benefits of individual areas within them. Topics addressed include the broader socio-economic impacts of MPAs in the Mediterranean and Black Seas; the use of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to resolve conflicts between marine resource use and protection; special protection measures under the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD); ecological value assessments in the Black Sea; the Ecosystem Approach (EA) for managing marine ecosystems; MPAs along Turkey’s Black Sea coast; MPAs and offshore wind farms; and managing and monitoring MPA networks within and between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Timely and important, Management of Marine Protected Areas: A Network Perspective offers invaluable insights into the role of MPAs in preserving the welfare and long-term viability of our world’s oceans.

Marine Protected Areas in International law – an Arctic perspective, introduces and analyzes the legal rights and obligations of states under international law, using Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a tool to protect marine biodiversity. The fragile Arctic marine environment is under growing pressure from climate change and the prospect of increasing human activity affecting previously untouched areas. The conservation of Arctic marine biodiversity is a pressing and global concern, not least because the melting of sea ice will have widespread effects. By analyzing regional cooperation through the OSPAR Convention and under the Arctic Council, Jakobsen examines the implementation of the global legal framework for biodiversity protection and conservation in the Arctic. The book has a particular focus on the possibilities of the states to regulate shipping within the MPAs, as the increasing shipping activities represent a major threat to the sensitive marine Arctic.