Only 9 percent of Marine Protected Areas have enough staff and only 35 percent receive adequate funding, says a report published in the journal Nature. MPAs, which include marine reserves, no-take zones, sanctuaries, and parks, are an increasingly popular way to conserve marine species by restricting fishing and energy extraction.
“At MPAs with sufficient staffing, increases in fish populations were nearly three times greater than those without adequate personnel,” says the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. “Marine protected areas are rapidly expanding in number and total area around the world … In the last two years alone, over 2.6 million square kilometers have been added to the portion of the global ocean covered by MPAs, bringing the total to over 14.9 million square kilometers.”
The researchers looked at 589 MPAs, and found that many had difficulty delivering on their conservation promises.
“The study in some ways points out the obvious — that investing in management and capacity is key for biodiversity outcomes in MPAs. But it is alarming to see how few MPAs have sufficient financial and human capacity, pointing to a clear need for further investment,” said Jon Hutton, Director of the Luc Hoffman Institute, and one of the study’s authors.
Read FERN’s story, “The Fishermen’s Dilemma,” by Paul Greenberg, to learn more about MPAs.