Over 190,000 new marine protected areas (MPAs) must be established if the world is to meet the 30×30 marine protection target under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), equivalent to 85 MPAs created every day until 2030, according to a study published Thursday.

The pre-print study, released by US-based Dynamic Planet and National Geographic Pristine Seas, marks the first-ever quantification of the number of MPAs needed to protect 30% of global seas by the end of the decade, as agreed two years ago by world leaders during COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal.

According to the authors, countries still need to establish approximately 190,000 small MPAs in coastal regions, with an additional 300 large MPAs in remote and offshore areas.

“If we are to meet the global target of conserving 30% of the ocean by 2030 … 85 MPAs would need to be created daily over six years starting in 2025,” Kristin Rechberger, CEO of Dynamic Planet and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

The study covers over 13,000 MPAs worldwide and leverages data from the World Database on Protected Areas.

Authors estimated that achieving the target will require significant contributions from countries with extensive coastlines and large exclusive economic zones (EEZs), such as Indonesia, Canada, Russia, and the US.

The highest number of MPAs are needed in East Asia and the Pacific, followed by Europe, southern Asia, and the Coral Triangle.

“Our analysis quickly revealed how far behind the world really is,” said Juan Mayorga, co-author of the study and marine data scientist at National Geographic Pristine Seas.

“The exact number of additional MPAs needed depends on their size and the standards for what counts as truly protected, but the scale of the challenge is undeniable.”

INEFFECTIVE

As of Sep. 2024, only 12 nations have achieved the 30% ocean protection target, including the UK, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Chile, Belgium, Colombia, France, Seychelles, and the Netherlands.

Furthermore, the authors highlighted that many existing MPAs worldwide are not effective, as harmful activities such as intensive fishing are not banned.

While 8.2% of the ocean is so far under some form of protection, only 3% is highly protected from damaging activities.

For instance, across the EU, more than 80% of existing MPAs lack proper management and offer minimal or no protection from damaging human activities, authors said.

“The pace of implementation of MPAs is totally inadequate for what the world needs,” said Enric Sala, co-author of the study and founder of the National Geographic Pristine Seas.

“Without more effective protection now, the ocean won’t be able to continue providing for us, especially for coastal communities in the Global South who are already suffering from overfishing and global warming.”

SCALING MPAs

As for scaling the coastal MPAs, authors identify three main obstacles, which are the lack of awareness, the inadequate governance, and the wrong business models.

In most coastal countries, governments tend to see MPAs as a financial burden, the study said, as they traditionally rely on philanthropy and public funding.

In light of that, authors suggested MPAs could be implemented as a private business, with stakeholders such as fishers and tourism operators involved in the creation and management of the protected areas.

“Successful examples of profitable coastal MPAs from around the world, such as the Chumbe Island Coral Park in Tanzania and the Misool Marine Reserve in Indonesia, prove that reviving the ocean is also good business,” Rechberger said.

“Coastal MPAs are also excellent social enterprises and generate massive benefits for frontline communities.”

According to data shared last week by French NGO Blue Alliance, to date 70% of the 20,000 MPAs in the world struggle to meet minimum management standards due to insufficient funding.

This is despite the fact that well-designed and enforced MPAs can generate significant economic benefits to the fishing and tourism industries, with some profits in the billions, as estimated by a separate study earlier this year.

BLUE WASHING

A separate report by Bloomberg Ocean Fund, Campaign for Nature, the Marine Conservation Institute, and US non-profit SkyTruth released on Thursday, also showed that just 2.8% of the world’s ocean is protected “effectively”, with the broad definition of MPAs leaving scope for “blue washing”.

Many MPAs allow the continuation of activities that are incompatible with effective biodiversity conservation, such as harmful fishing methods, mining, oil and gas extraction, dredging, and dumping.

To date, the protection of global marine areas has increased by just 0.5% since the adoption of the GBF. With this rate of progress, just 9.7% of the ocean will be protected by 2030, the study said.

By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com

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