Establishing a Functional Region-Wide Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System

Abstract

The six Coral Triangle countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste, each have evolving systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) at the national and local levels. Now with more than 1,900 MPAs covering 208,152 km² (1.6% of the extended economic zone for the region), the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security has endorsed a Regional Plan of Action that contains a target of establishing a “Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System” as part of its third goal on improving MPA management. This article details the contents of the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System Framework and Action Plan and describes its development and potential contribution to the improved management in the region once it is implemented. The MPA System Framework, as endorsed by the six countries, contains guidance for standardizing how MPAs and MPA networks are evaluated for effectiveness, and provides options for scaling-up existing MPAs to networks of MPAs that are more ecologically linked, integrated with fisheries management and responsive to changing climate. The Framework establishes an institutional mechanism by which the regional entity can facilitate the continued development and implementation of a region-wide MPA system that provides incentives for improved quality of management and enhanced marine area coverage at the local scale.

Keywords:

• coastal management
• Coral Triangle countries
• marine protected areas
• marine spatial planning

Acknowledgements

The database and maps referred to can be accessed at http://ctatlas.reefbase.org/. The Interim Regional Secretariat of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (http://www.coraltriangleinitiative.org) is thanked for overall support for development of the Coral Triangle MPA System Framework through the cooperation of the six Coral Triangle Countries.

Notes

1. The CT Atlas is the official information system and spatial database for tracking progress in the CTMPAS. The data requirements for Category 1 are set out in the CTMPAS Framework and agreed among the countries through data sharing agreements with WorldFish, the institution in Malaysia that manages the CT Atlas.

2. An initial gap analysis has been conducted by the University of Queensland and other researchers (Beger et al. 2013) which is the first systematic, CT wide, gap analysis for marine conservation.