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International Marine Protected Areas Efforts

This page provides some examples of international MPA programs in which NOAA or the National Marine Protected Areas Center has a responsibility.

North American Marine Protected Areas Network
The Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness Initiative
The United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Programme on Man and the Biosphere


North American Marine Protected Areas Network
President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Harper and Mexican President Calderon identified work under the North American MPA Network (NAMPAN) as a "Key Accomplishment” in a joint statement issued on August 21, 2007, at their meeting in Montebello, Quebec:

“To improve the ecological health of our shared marine resources, our governments continued to expand the North American Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Network. The Network will use our countries' marine protected areas in the development of a tri-national MPA-based monitoring program stretching from Baja to the Bering Strait.”

Several NOAA programs in the expanding NAMPAN partnership lead by the National MPA Center include NOS’ Office of Ocean and Coastal resource Management (MPA Center, National Estuarine Research Reserve System), International Programs Office and Office of Marine Sanctuaries and NMFS’ Office of Science and Technology and Office of Habitat Conservation.

Background
Canada, Mexico, and the United States are working to establish a North American Marine Protected Areas Network (NAMPAN) with the support of the Biodiversity Program of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The CEC is an international organization established by the three governments under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. It was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The goal of NAMPAN is to work with a tri-national, multi-sectoral group of stakeholders in establishing an effective system of North American MPA networks that enhances and strengthens the protection of marine biodiversity. Specifically, the project seeks to:

  • Enhance collaboration among the three countries to address common challenges inherent in the protection of marine biodiversity and jointly prioritize conservation actions.

  • Develop effective conservation approaches and cross-cutting conservation initiatives that help conserve critical marine and coastal habitats and North American biodiversity, and recognize ecological, economic, social, and cultural issues.

  • Build regional, national, and international capacity to manage, conserve, and monitor the status of critical marine and coastal habitats by sharing effective conservation approaches, lessons learned, new technologies and management strategies, as well as by increasing access to and synthesis of relevant information.

  • Facilitate the strategic design and establishment of a global system of MPAs throughout North America and the world, as called for by IUCN (World Conservation Union).

In January 2004, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated the National Marine Protected Areas Center as the U.S. government lead to help develop the NAMPAN. A major focus of NAMPAN in 2006 and 2007 is development of a cooperative monitoring program using “sister cities” in the “Baja to Bering” coastal and ocean region, which unites the three countries. NAMPAN projects completed or near completion since the program’s initiation in 1999 include:

  • North American Marine Protected Areas Network (NAMPAN) Action Plan: Draft Framework
  • A NAMPAN vision
  • A series of capacity-building workshops
  • Marine Priority Conservation Areas: Baja California to the Bering Sea
  • Priority Conservation Areas: Identification of North American marine eco-regions

Information about NAMPAN, specific projects, and copies of final work products can be found at http://www.cec.org/programs_projects/conserv_biodiv/.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about the MPA Center’s work with the North American Protected Areas Network, contact:
Joseph Uravitch: 301-713-3100, ext. 195
You may also visit NOAA’s International Programs Office website.



The Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness Initiative
Broad expectations have been placed on marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect marine biodiversity and ecosystem function, reduce poverty, and provide for healthier coastal communities with a strong foundation for economic growth. MPAs are severely challenged in achieving their objectives. For example, there may be insufficient financial and technical resources, lack of trained staff, or lack of data for management decisions. Performance evaluation plays a critical role in providing for and demonstrating long-term positive impacts on biodiversity and the human communities that depend on these resources. Management effectiveness is the degree to which a protected area is used to achieve its goals and objectives. Assessing management effectiveness is a way to document how the management of a protected area influences its success. Evaluating management effectiveness should ultimately lead to improved project planning, accountability, and adaptive management.

The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)-Marine and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are collaborating to improve the management of MPAs by providing managers, planners, and other decision-makers with methods for assessing the effectiveness of MPA sites. One of these methods is the Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness Initiative, which provides tools to MPA practitioners and facilitates a learning network among MPAs to improve management effectiveness. The Initiative’s website is a central location for general project information, case reports, a guidebook, and other relevant documents.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For questions regarding the project, write to: mei_contact@noaa.gov


The United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Programme on Man and the Biosphere
UNESCO’s Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) develops the basis, within the natural and the social sciences, for the sustainable use and conservation of biological diversity, and for the improvement of the relationship between people and their environment globally. The MAB Programme encourages interdisciplinary research, demonstration and training in natural resource management.

Over the next decades, MAB is focusing on new approaches for facilitating sustainable development, through promoting conservation and wise use of biodiversity. By taking advantage of the trans-disciplinary and cross-cultural opportunities of UNESCO’s mandate in the fields of education, science, culture and communication, MAB is promoting both scientific research and information gathering, as well as linking with traditional knowledge about resource use.

The MAB governing body consists of 34 member states elected by UNESCO’s biennial general conference. There are also officials who are elected to a Bureau that meets between Council sessions. In addition, MAB operates through 142 national committees and focal points established among the 189 members states of UNESCO.

There is a MAB committee in the United States, and National MPA Center Director Joseph Uravitch serves on the committee on behalf of NOAA.

One of the focal points MAB is exploring is a world network of biosphere reserves.
For more information, contact:
Joseph Uravitch, 301-713-3100, ext. 195.

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