Sustaining the World's Large Marine Ecosystems

In recent decades, growing awareness of the continuing decline in the quality of
our oceans and seas has stimulated the nations of the world to recognize the
challenges that face us, provide effective stewardship, and agree on a number of
targets that relate fully or in part to the implementation of Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs). Globally these include:
• halting the decline of biodiversity by 2010;
• introducing an ecosystems approach to marine resource management by
2010;
• designating a network of representative marine protected areas by 2012; and
• restoring depleted fish stocks to maximum sustainable yield levels by 2015.
The measures we take to protect marine wildlife and the environment need to
keep pace with human impacts. They need to be meaningful for large scale
physical ocean processes and also address future impacts from climate change
and ocean acidification.
Effective area-based protection through MPAs helps maintain ecosystem health
and productivity, while safeguarding social and economic development. MPAs
also help maintain the full range of genetic variation essential for securing viable
populations of key species, sustaining evolutionary processes and ensuring
resilience in the face of natural disturbances and human use (Agardy and Staub
2006).
Figure 2. Percentage of Large Marine Ecosystems covered by marine protected areas. Courtesy
of Louisa Wood / IUCN
If designed correctly and managed well, MPAs have an important role to play in
protecting ecosystems and, in some cases, enhancing or restoring the productive
102