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Actions announced at the 2014-2017 Our Ocean Conferences in the MPA theme. a) 202 actions grouped by action type, and b) 202 actions grouped by sector making the commitment.
Source publication
As 2020 approaches, countries are accelerating their commitments to protect 10% of the ocean by establishing and expanding marine protected areas (MPAs) and other area-based protections. Since it began in 2014, the Our Ocean Conference (OOC) has become a high-profile platform to announce ocean commitments. To evaluate the impact of these promises,...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... all four OOCs, 143 announcements comprising 202 actions in the 'Protecting Ocean Areas' and 'Marine Protected Areas' thematic areas were made by 52 countries and 52 other organizations across a total of six sectors. The number of actions announced at least doubled each year (Fig. 1). This represents a greater than 15-fold increase between 2014 and 2017. As of September 2018, 46% of these MPA actions are completed, 49% show some evidence of progress, and the fate of the remaining 5% is unknown (i.e., there was insufficient information to evaluate ...
Context 2
... types of MPA actions in the OOC announcements became more diverse through time. The 2014 announcements covered four types of actions; by 2017 there were nine types (Fig. 1a, Table 1). Across all four years, the four largest categories of action totaled 85% of all actions types: new protected areas (86 actions, 43%), financial commitments (48, 24%), policies (22, 11%), and addition of area to an existing MPA (15, ...
Context 3
... number of sectors making announcements tripled over the first four years, from two sectors in 2014 to six in 2017 (Table 1). In 2014, multiple governments and a single foundation announced MPA actions; by 2017, academia, industry, NGOs, and intergovernmental groups also made commitments (Table 1, Fig. 1b). Not surprisingly, since the conference was initiated by governments (and governments have the primary authority to establish or expand MPAs), the largest sector announcing MPA commitments was governments, contributing 86% of all MPA-themed actions (174 out of 202). Nonetheless, the intergovernmental, industry, philanthropic, NGO, and ...
Context 4
... (and governments have the primary authority to establish or expand MPAs), the largest sector announcing MPA commitments was governments, contributing 86% of all MPA-themed actions (174 out of 202). Nonetheless, the intergovernmental, industry, philanthropic, NGO, and academic sectors have steadily increased their announced contributions to MPAs ( Fig. 1) through financial, technical, and personnel resources and ...
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... MPA coverage has rapidly expanded in recent years, in part driven by countries' commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Target 11 to designate 10% of their marine areas as MPAs by 2020 (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2019). This global commitment to expand MPA area was further reinforced by Goal 14 ('Life Below Water') of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which also adopted a target for nations to designate 10% of their marine areas under protection. ...
Globally, marine protected area (MPA) objectives have increasingly shifted from a primary focus on maintaining ecosystems through prohibiting extractive activities, to more equitable approaches that address the needs of both people and nature. This has led to MPAs with a diverse array of fisheries restrictions and recent debate on the type of restrictions that contribute to achieving biodiversity goals. Here we use a global dataset of 172 MPAs (representing 31 nations) alongside nine detailed case study MPAs (from Australia, Belize, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Madagascar, Solomon Islands, and United States of America), including partially protected areas that allow regulated fishing, to illustrate the many diverse pathways that some MPAs have adopted to protect biodiversity and safeguard the rights and well-being of resource-dependent coastal communities. We group MPAs based on their restrictions and explore four key insights emerging from these groupings using our nine case studies: (i) MPAs use highly diverse approaches to regulate fisheries; (ii) partially protected areas can address gaps in regional fisheries management; (iii) devolving resource management rights to communities influences the chosen fisheries restrictions; and (iv) state-governed MPAs can use highly tailored fisheries restrictions to increase equity in access. We find that partially protected MPAs can offer effective and equitable pathways for biodiversity conservation if tailored to local context. Rather than focusing primarily on fully protected areas for achieving new global MPA targets, we recommend countries use a blend of locally-appropriate protection levels – from fully protected areas to partially protected MPAs to achieve positive biodiversity outcomes.
... Protected areas, understood as "a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values" (CBD, 2020a), are frequently employed as a central governance approach for conserving and restoring biodiversity across terrestrial, inland, and marine ecosystems (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2019;Mora and Sale, 2011;Pringle, 2017;Sala and Giakoumi, 2018;Worm et al., 2006). This is also reflected in the Aichi Target 11, which called for at least 17% of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and 10% of the ocean to be effectively, and equitably managed as protected areas by 2020. ...
... Most common policy goals on protected areas mostly are led by civil society organisations, or by civil society organisations that cooperate with public institutions. The leadership of civil society corroborates the general observations that conservation and biodiversity governance increasingly take an inclusive approach and involve other actors beyond the state (Raymond et al., 2022;Curet and Puydarrieux, 2020;Grorud-Colvert et al., 2019). We also find that ICIs include actors that engage at several governance levels, from local to international. ...
Protected areas are frequently used as an important governance approach for biodiversity conservation. Even though the total area of protected areas has increased over time, the coverage, quality of management and effectiveness of these areas are still suboptimal. A large body of literature identifies four main challenges that limit the effectiveness of protected areas: lack of stakeholder participation, insufficient organisational capacity to enforce rules, poor integration across social and ecological goals, and underdeveloped accountability mechanisms for assessing management procedures. To address these challenges, scholars and policymakers increasingly debate how to foster an integrated, inclusive, and transparent “whole of society” approach to conservation. We contribute to this debate by examining the role of international cooperative initiatives (ICIs), involving non-state and subnational actors operating across national borders to steer society towards a common goal. We identify 20 ICIs that work on protected areas and analyse their potential to address the four main challenges identified in protected areas, by examining their actor constellation, governance functions, goal alignment, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms. We find that ICIs working on protected areas have the potential to directly address challenges in protected areas related to lack of capacity and accountability mechanisms, and indirectly address challenges related to lack of participation and integration across goals. We discuss these findings in relation to scholarly debates in the global environmental governance and protected areas literature respectively, as well as, to policy debates over the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
... Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are spatial restrictions on allowed activities, particularly fishing, generally used for the management and protection of marine species and habitats (Ward, Heinemann & Evans, 2001;Lester et al., 2009;Sala & Giakoumi, 2018). There is considerable variation in MPA size, regulations, and types of enforcement (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2019). The number and size of MPAs have been growing in recent decades due to increased concern for ocean health (e.g. ...
1. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly used as a management and conservation strategy. However, the effects of MPA implementation (i.e. restrictions on extractive use) on recreational fishers' spatial behaviour are often not considered. Spatial shifts in fishing pressure and which port fishers choose to fish from can have ecological and economic impacts. Therefore, it is critical that MPA impacts on recreational fishers are adequately investigated and weighed against potential conservation benefits from MPA designation. 2. The State of Oregon, USA, has a system of five no-take marine reserves (MRs) with adjacent limited-take MPAs. This study used an interrupted time series approach to investigate how fishing licence sales were impacted by MR implementation. 3. This study found that recreational fishers near only one MR were potentially adversely impacted by MR implementation. The proportion of coastal licence sales near Redfish Rocks MR displayed an immediate sustained 47.1% proportional decrease following reserve implementation. Conversely, there was a 0.5% proportional increase in monthly demand for licence sales near Otter Rock and Cascade Head MRs. 4. This study suggests that most MRs in Oregon were designated in a manner that limited significant adverse impacts to some ocean users, a specified MR objective. The process of MR planning in Oregon, which involved considerable public input, could be used as an example for MR designation in other similar settings. However, when a potential MR site and adjacent town's conditions match those at Redfish Rocks MR, there may be adverse socioeconomic impacts that should be weighed against potential ecological benefits. 5. This study also demonstrates the application of an interrupted time series approach.
... Threats to marine ecosystems and ocean dependent communities have increased (Halpern et al., 2008;FAO 2018), prompting calls for greater ocean protections (Thomas et al., 2014;Executive Order, 1/27/21). As one response to the call for greater marine protections, many governments have instituted marine protected areas (MPAs, Spalding et al., 2013;Lubchenco and Grorud-Colvert 2015), which vary greatly in size, level of protection, process of implementation, and degree of enforcement (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2019). ...
Marine reserves (MRs) are increasingly used as a tool for conservation and management. However, few studies have investigated the potential impacts of MRs on the recreational fishing community, despite this community's importance to coastal economies. In addition, marine reserves knowledge and support are crucial to compliance to regulations and reserve success, yet there is limited related research. To address these gaps, we conducted an online survey of Oregon, USA, recreational anglers (N = 7638). Opposition to Oregon's MRs was quite low (9.9%), but was significantly higher among avid saltwater fishers, those who consider angling central to their lifestyle, and respondents whose fishing behavior had been impacted by MR establishment. Over half of the respondents (57.6%) were aware of Oregon's MRs, and those respondents were asked additional questions regarding MR knowledge and perceived impact. In general, MR name recognition and spatial knowledge were low. However, knowledge scores were significantly higher among respondents who were members of a sport-fishing organization and respondents who fished off the central Oregon coast, where three of Oregon's five MRs are located. Of note, respondents who fished off the central Oregon coast were not more likely to shift their fishing effort because of MR implementation, despite the high concentration of reserves in that area. Of those aware of the MRs, only 11.8% (n = 509) indicated they had changed their angling behavior due to MR establishment. Most of these respondents indicated that they found substitute marine fishing grounds. Avid saltwater fishers and those who consider angling to be more important to their lifestyle were significantly more likely to indicate that their angling behavior was impacted by MR establishment. These avid specialized fishers may have a stronger preference for specific angling locations, which could have been affected by area closures. This study found that impacts of MR implementation on the Oregon recreational fishing community have been minimal in aggregate. The lack of MR opposition suggests that fishers would likely comply with MR regulations, though the lack of knowledge suggests a need for increased communication efforts to ensure compliance is attainable.
... A lesson learned from ongoing ocean governance processes has been the importance of fostering genuine engagement and collaboration with the private sector, which is crucial for developing novel partnerships and actionable solutions. In this regard, there have recently been encouraging efforts and notable successes, including in the context of the UN Ocean Conference 2017 and the Our Ocean Conferences, but overall progress is still limited and tenuous (Grorud-Colvert et al. 2019;Neumann and Unger 2019a). The assessment of the first phase of the Marine Regions Forum also concluded that the private sector should be actively involved in the activities of the Marine Regions Forum (see chapter 3.4.2). ...
The marine environment, subject to multiple pressures, is transboundary by nature. For ocean management and conservation, there is a need of enhanced collaboration and cross-sectoral solutions. This project aimed to develop a participatory dialogue platform that strengthens cooperation within and between marine regions in line with the 2030 Agenda. The “Marine Regions Forum” brings together stakeholders for joint learning and exchange of good practices, developing recommendations or building of partnerships across sectoral and territorial boundaries. The report shows that the informal format of the "Marine Regions Forum" can complement global discussions and regional efforts alike and thus support processes of ocean governance.
The full report is available here: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publikationen/marine-regions-forum
... In 2014 the US Department of State decided to host a conference, which was going to bring together individuals, experts, practitioners, advocates, lawmakers, and the international oceans and foreign policy communities to gather lessons learned, share the best science, offer unique perspectives and demonstrate effective actions. This was the start of the Our Ocean conferences, which has the aim of generating actions to contribute to restoring the ocean so that it can continue to provide the needs of future generations [5]. The Our Ocean conference series has become a high-profile platform to present commitments for actions for the oceans [5]. ...
... This was the start of the Our Ocean conferences, which has the aim of generating actions to contribute to restoring the ocean so that it can continue to provide the needs of future generations [5]. The Our Ocean conference series has become a high-profile platform to present commitments for actions for the oceans [5]. More than 1000 commitments were made during the annual conferences from 2014 to 2019 within six different action areas. ...
... The questionnaire could be answered online or using the form attached to the survey email. The pledgers were asked to report on the implementation and impact of their commitments, using a method similar to that used by Grorud-Colvert et al. [5] in a study of marine protected areas (MPA) commitments made at the Our Ocean conferences. Of the 182 contacts who were sent the questionnaire, 156 responded to all three questions, while eight did not complete all of them. ...
The Our Ocean conferences focus on voluntary commitments by different pledgers in support of actions towards a clean, healthy and productive ocean. We analysed the content and summarised the progress of implementation of the commitments related to sustainable fisheries at the Our Ocean conferences during 2014–2018. A total of 77 different entities provided commitments. Governments was the largest group (34) followed by NGOs (23). The majority (58%) of commitments were related to enforcement, transparency and cooperation. In particular, combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries and support for the port state measures process were the focus of many of the commitments. To increase transparency and effectiveness of commitments, we suggest that more emphasis should be put on documenting and evaluating the impact of commitments. There is good progress in the implementation, and the commitments are largely reality and not empty words. We consider that the commitments have been successful in terms of generating attention and providing funding of projects that are supportive of sustainable fisheries. The diversity of pledgers is large, and an objective gap analysis on requirements for achieving sustainable fisheries regionally could provide pledgers with common ground and further increase the impact of the Our Ocean conferences.
... Other examples of this style of "voluntary adaptive governance" include the Voluntary National Review process under the UN SDGs, and the Voluntary Commitments under the United Nations Our Ocean Conferences. In an evaluation of verifiable outcomes of voluntary commitments made at the Our Ocean Conferences from 2014 to 2017, Grorud-Colvert 86 found that one third of the announcements focused on marine protected areas, and that almost half of these promised actions were completed at the time of publication. These voluntary commitments cumulatively added up to over 5 million km² of protected area, encompassing 1.4% of the ocean, almost doubling the quantity of implemented marine protected areas worldwide 86 . ...
... In an evaluation of verifiable outcomes of voluntary commitments made at the Our Ocean Conferences from 2014 to 2017, Grorud-Colvert 86 found that one third of the announcements focused on marine protected areas, and that almost half of these promised actions were completed at the time of publication. These voluntary commitments cumulatively added up to over 5 million km² of protected area, encompassing 1.4% of the ocean, almost doubling the quantity of implemented marine protected areas worldwide 86 . ...
Human wellbeing relies on the Biosphere, including natural resources provided by ocean ecosystems. As multiple demands and stressors threaten the ocean, transformative change in ocean governance is required to maintain the contributions of the ocean to people. Here we illustrate how transition theory can be applied to ocean governance. We demonstrate how current economic and social systems can adapt to existing pressures and shift towards ocean stewardship through incorporation of niche innovations within and across economic sectors and stakeholder communities. These novel approaches support an emergent but purposeful transition and suggest a clear path to a thriving and vibrant relationship between humans and the ocean. Oceans provide important natural resources, but the management and governance of the ocean is complex and the ecosystem is suffering as a result. The authors discuss current barriers to sustainable ocean governance and suggest pathways forward.
... Marine protected areas (MPAs) are conservation tools that are increasingly implemented, and many coastal nations have committed to placing a substantial fraction of their marine areas in MPAs (9,10). Although primarily designed to protect and recover marine biodiversity, MPAs also have implications for fisheries. ...
Significance
Strategically siting marine protected areas (MPAs) in overfished fisheries can have important conservation and food provisioning benefits. We use distribution data for 1,338 commercially important fisheries stocks around the world to model how MPAs in different locations would affect catch. We show that strategically expanding the existing global MPA network by just 5% can improve future catch by at least 20%. Our work demonstrates that a global network of MPAs designed to improve fisheries productivity can substantially increase future catch, enabling synergistic conservation and food provisioning.
... The balance and distribution of fortune and misfortune (e.g., benefits vs. costs) among PA users may explain why the establishment of PAs is still lagging and poorly accepted in some places compared to others 21 . If international efforts and political commitments to scale up PA coverage are to be realized 5,22,23 , they will need to be built on a better understanding of the social and environmental factors that promote or inhibit the creation of PAs. However, many factors are potentially at play and we lack a comprehensive understanding of how these factors determine whether, where, and the extent to which terrestrial and marine areas are currently protected or are likely to be in the near future. ...
Many islands are biodiversity hotspots but also extinction epicenters. In addition to strong cultural connections to nature, islanders derive a significant part of their economy and broader wellbeing from this biodiversity. Islands are thus considered as the socio-ecosystems most vulnerable to species and habitat loss. Yet, the extent and key correlates of protected area coverage on islands is still unknown. Here we assess the relative influence of climate, geography, habitat diversity, culture, resource capacity, and human footprint on terrestrial and marine protected area coverage across 2323 inhabited islands globally. We show that, on average, 22% of terrestrial and 13% of marine island areas are under protection status, but that half of all islands have no protected areas. Climate, diversity of languages, human population density and development are strongly associated with differences observed in protected area coverage among islands. Our study suggests that economic development and population growth may critically limit the amount of protection on islands.
... Other examples of this style of "voluntary adaptive governance" include the Voluntary National Review process under the UN SDGs, and the Voluntary Commitments under the United Nations Our Ocean Conferences. In an evaluation of verifiable outcomes of voluntary commitments made at the Our Ocean Conferences from 2014 to 2017, Grorud-Colvert 86 found that one third of the announcements focused on marine protected areas, and that almost half of these promised actions were completed at the time of publication. These voluntary commitments cumulatively added up to over 5 million km² of protected area, encompassing 1.4% of the ocean, almost doubling the quantity of implemented marine protected areas worldwide 86 . ...
... In an evaluation of verifiable outcomes of voluntary commitments made at the Our Ocean Conferences from 2014 to 2017, Grorud-Colvert 86 found that one third of the announcements focused on marine protected areas, and that almost half of these promised actions were completed at the time of publication. These voluntary commitments cumulatively added up to over 5 million km² of protected area, encompassing 1.4% of the ocean, almost doubling the quantity of implemented marine protected areas worldwide 86 . ...
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
