A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

Protected Areas for
Lagoons and Estuaries
Coastal lagoons and estuaries are exceptionally important for sustaining marine
resources and biodiversity. These productive habitats support important sealife
communities through their role in seafood production and their nurturing of many
valuable marine organisms, not to mention their benefits for recreation, aesthetic appeal,
suitability as harbors, and importance to wildlife. Moreover, delta environments are
often an important extension of the estuarine system.
But the extent of economic development and intensity of use often deters
selection of lagoons and estuaries as MPAs because they are often the locus of
substantial economic activity and may be highly impacted by port development,
land reclamation, heavy industry, housing, upstream agricultural practices, sewage
disposal, and dumping. These activities degrade productive habitats, the quality of
estuarine waters, the production of organic detritus, and feeding and nursery habitats
of fishery species.
It may be possible to offer protection to entire small lagoons or estuaries and
to assign management to a single MPA authority. But for large ones, MPA protection
needs to be supported by a wider conservation programme such as Coastal Zone
Management (CZM). With this approach, the entire lagoon/estuary would be the
management unit, with management of MPAs, pollution control, dredge and fill
regulation, fishery management, upstream land use planning and management, and
port, navigation, and boating control being the responsibilities of different authorities
coordinated by a single lead agency (see Section I-5).