What is the issue?
Species in the Coral Triangle such as turtles and dugong will not survive unless they can access refuges—areas where human activities are carefully managed so that they do not damage wildlife and habitat.
Marine protected areas can include several zones— “no-take”, sustainable use, research—which provide opportunities for both conservation and sustainable exploitation.
Many MPAs are not delivering
But there are still too few marine protected areas in the region. And even where they exist, often they are not effectively managed. This severely limits the ability of MPAs to replenish fish populations.
What we need is well-designed and well-managed networks of marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas. This is the key to preventing further biodiversity loss and fisheries collapse.
