Sustaining the World's Large Marine Ecosystems

a wide variety of species other than marine fish that can be cultured successfully
to help improve the livelihood of local fishers (Hoang Tung, 2002).
It is anticipated that the Nha Trang Bay MPA can be used as a model for the
development of the other 14 MPAs planned for the coast of Vietnam over the
next decade. Financed by the Global Environment Facility through the World
Bank, DANIDA (Government of Denmark), and the Government of Vietnam, the
Hon Mun MPA Pilot Project in Nha Trang Bay was implemented by IUCN in
partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries and Khanh Hoa Province.
The Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem
MAPPING MPAS TO HELP PROMOTE A COHERENT INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
In collaboration with WWF and MedPAN, the network of managers of
Mediterranean MPAs, the IUCN has built an inventory and assessed the status of
Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean Sea LME. It is the first survey of
Mediterranean MPAs that includes a data collection of management
characteristics and is based on questionnaire responses. Eighteen countries
bordering the Mediterranean Sea LME participated in MPA management
agencies.
The database contains accurate data and useful information for all known MPAs.
Users can search sites by country, and find information on:
• General characteristics of the MPA (contacts, map, size, geographical
coordinates, zonation, IUCN management category, legal references);
• MPA Management (management plan, surveillance and enforcement,
equipment, staff, monitoring programme, and illegal activities);
• Habitats and species currently under protection, and health status of key
habitats and species; and
• Main threats affecting Mediterranean MPAs.
The main aim of this initiative is to provide an updated baseline to assess the
progress being made in the development of an ecologically representative and
coherent network of MPAs in the Mediterranean Sea LME. It is offered as a
resource to MPA managers, institutions, scientists, decision-makers, and the
general public, to be better informed on the marine conservation work being
accomplished in the region. Mediterranean MPAs do not yet fully represent all
the diverse habitats of the region. Sixty nine of them (or 73.4%) are located along
the LME’s northern shore, highlighting the lack of MPAs along the southern and
eastern coasts. These under-represented regions and habitats are ecologically
distinctive in terms of their oceanography and biogeography. Many MPAs are
ecologically isolated, with 75% of the MPAs separated by more than 30 km.
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