A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

152 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
6.7 The New International Legal Regime
The new international legal regime now comprises a mosaic of various instruments,
some of which aim to protect broad ecosystems (e.g., the biodiversity convention) while
others are more targeted to various species (the Straddling Stocks Agreement) or specific
impacts (the GPA). Nevertheless, each envisions (explicitly or implicitly) MPAs as useful
tools to fulfill some of their objectives. This is particularly important for governments
of States that are parties to these conventions because they represent both a justification
and an obligation for setting up MPAs. This becomes relevant from an international
assistance perspective because governments from developing countries are often
justified under the terms of the conventions to obtain financial and technical assistance
from developed countries. The obligations under the treaties often represent new
obligations and are more broadly part of a new approach to sustainable development.
All the most recent negotiation processes recognize that new obligations also call for
new and additional resources for developing countries most in need.
To that end, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established specifically
to help developing countries meet their new obligations related to biodiversity and
climate change. Because MPAs are now in the realm of new international treaties they
are no longer the sole responsibility of national governments (though of course they
are responsible for their implementation), but rather of the international community
as a whole.
Another important aspect of this “internationalization” of MPAs is the growing
awareness that MPAs cannot be set up in isolation, but rather need to be integrated
in networks. As the SPAW Protocol demonstrates, the responsibility of establishing
MPAs can rarely be a purely national effort, but rather is better coordinated at the
regional level, so as to maximize their expected benefits. Because this is enshrined
in the new international regime, national governments can expect better cooperation
from neighboring States and can make full use of the regional networks and
organizations already in place (see the UNEP Regional Seas Programme, above).
This important aspect of MPAs was partly addressed by a joint exercise of the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the World Bank and IUCN attempting to
establish a global representative system of marine protected areas (Kelleher et al., 1995).
This publication provides a basis for development and implementation of a global
system of MPAs to protect and manage some of the world’s most representative
marine systems. The network is divided in 18 marine regions in which priorities are
identified. It thus recognizes the need to adopt a proactive approach to MPAs and
establishes a “road map” for identification of the sites that most need to be protected.
This is still merely a preliminary stage in a long process in which all relevant entities
are invited to participate. Ultimately it should lead to a process where the establishment
of MPAs is decided on the basis of agreed upon priorities and where the connectivity
between the MPAs in the network is optimized.