A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

PART I
Selection of Marine Protected Areas
1995). Nilsson (1998) provides a valuable comparison and comment on these various
criteria and their applications for different conservation objectives. Nilsson’s report
is highly recommended reading for those interested in the choice and application of
criteria for selection of marine protected areas.
4.2 Guiding Principles
First principle: The needs, priorities, and abilities of the country define the objectives
and scope of the marine protected area programme.
It is easier to list principles and criteria from the theoretical perspective, than
it is to apply them in the real world. Thus common sense and sensitivity to the true
needs and abilities of the country and its people should be applied to the selection
of sites.
Second principle: The objectives of the marine protected area programme
provide the foundation for the selection process.
It is extremely important to have clearly defined and focused objectives for the
system of marine protected areas. For example, an objective may be to establish a
system of conservation areas for certain endangered species. In this case, the planning
process would focus on identification of critical marine habitats associated with the
life functions (breeding, feeding, migration areas) of the target species (Figure I-41).
Criteria would emphasize ecological, regional, and pragmatic parameters, and play
down social and economic ones (see discussion on application of specific criteria below).
If the objective were to protect critical habitats of fishery species, the selection criteria
would include social and economic parameters, and possibly place less importance
on regional ones. An integrated goal that includes the needs of all sectors of society
(e.g., fisheries, recreation, tourism) as well as those of the environment (wildlife,
productive marine habitats, ecological process) is more ambitious, but may be easier
to enter into national development
FIGURE I-41.
planning.
Third principle: The scope of the
marine protected area programme
(national, provincial, numbers and size
of marine protected areas) defines the
limits of the selection process, and is
an important determinant of the
selection criteria.
It is increasingly difficult to select
small areas in isolation of their surroundings,
especially in the sea where
winds, currents, and species movements
ensure a great deal of linkage or
Researchers locate humpback whales and record their
vocalizations near Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
83
Photo by John Clark.