A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

142 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
New Zealand legislation limits the landward boundaries of marine protected
areas to the high watermark, while the Marine Areas Act of 1970 of Trinidad and Tobago
states that the term marine areas “includes any adjoining land or swamp areas which
form within certain submarine areas a single ecological entity.” Other texts refer to
the “foreshore” (Seychelles, National Parks and Nature Conservancy Ordinance,
1973) or, less specifically, to areas that are part of a marine park (Australia, Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Act, 1975). It is worth repeating that MPAs must be extended
landward when it is necessary to control activities that adversely affect the protected
area.
Other legal powers can accomplish protection beyond the boundaries of the
designated area of an MPA (see Section I-5.9). For example, a general mangrove
protection programme may be coordinated with a lagoon-protected area. Or the
MPA may be nested inside a CZM programme (see Section I-5.8). Another approach
is to organize a coordinating entity for the zone of influence (see Section 5.9).
Coastal and marine protected areas are usually delimited by reference to
geographical points, such as “landmarks,” bearings and distance, or longitude and
latitude (on the importance of these geographical points, see Box I-18). The most detailed
provisions for delimiting vertical boundaries are those for the Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park. The area of the park includes subsoils (extending to the depth specified in the
proclamation declaring the parks), the air space above the site (extending to a height
specified in the proclamation), the waters of any sea within the area, and the seabed
beneath them.
A new (1998) law for the Galapagos Islands is hoped to achieve its goals and
ensure the protection of the critical ecosystems of the Galapagos—it is one of the most
innovative pieces of legislation covering an MPA. This ambition reflects the concerns
of the government of the Galapagos and illustrates the variety of measures available
to a government willing and able to take measures to protect a critical marine area
(Box I-19).
6.5 Legislative Options
The general guidelines at the end of this section contain useful reminders of the essential
elements that need to be included in any MPA legislation. Ultimately, however, there
is no ideal legislation and each manager needs to think out the MPA strategy that best
meets his or her particular needs. The importance of size, boundaries, traditional rights
and use restriction has been explained in broad terms, but each MPA is truly a special
mixture of all these elements. In addition to these technical considerations, whether
or not to draft MPA legislation, and what kind of legislation, is also in part a political
decision. The best legislation drafted in a non-consultative manner or that does not
take into account some strong local concerns is doomed to failure. Likewise, an
appropriate MPA could be established from the ground up, by the local stakeholders,
long before legislation is enacted.