Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas

Introduction

·         Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes.

·         It is 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".

·         MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations.

·         This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life.

MPA is an umbrella term to describe a wide range of protected areas for marine conservation around the world.

Classifications

·         A totally marine area with no significant terrestrial parts.

·         An area containing both marine and terrestrial components, which can vary between two extremes; those that are predominantly maritime with little land (for example, an atoll would have a tiny island with a significant maritime population surrounding it), or that is mostly terrestrial.

Marine ecosystems that contain land and intertidal components only. For example, a mangrove forest

IUCN offered seven categories of protected area, based on management objectives

IUCN Protected Area Management Categories

Ia	Strict nature reserve A marine reserve usually connotes "maximum protection", where all resource removals are strictly prohibited. In countries such as Kenya and Belize, marine reserves allow for low-risk removals to sustain local communities.
Ib	Wilderness area
II	National park Marine parks emphasize the protection of ecosystems but allow light human use. A marine park may prohibit fishing or extraction of resources, but allow recreation. Some marine parks, such as those in Tanzania, are zoned and allow activities such as fishing only in low risk areas.
III	Natural monuments or features Established to protect historical sites such as shipwrecks and cultural sites such as aboriginal fishing grounds.
IV	Habitat/species management area Established to protect a certain species, to benefit fisheries, rare habitat, as spawning/nursing grounds for fish, or to protect entire ecosystems.
V	Protected seascape Limited active management, as with protected landscapes.
VI	Sustainable use of natural resources

Related protected area categories include the following;

·         World Heritage Site (WHS) – an area exhibiting extensive natural or cultural history. Maritime areas are poorly represented, however, with only 46 out of over 800 sites.

·         Man and the Biosphere – UNESCO program that promotes "a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere". Under article 4, biosphere reserves must "encompass a mosaic of ecological systems", and thus combine terrestrial, coastal, or marine ecosystems. In structure they are similar to Multiple-use MPAs, with a core area ringed by different degrees of protection.

·         Ramsar site – must meet certain criteria for the definition of "Wetland" to become part of a global system. These sites do not necessarily receive protection, but are indexed by importance for later recommendation to an agency that could designate it a protected area

Why Marine Protected Area (MPA)

·         Marine protected areas are essential to safeguard biodiversity and to sustain vibrant seas and can increase biomass and biodiversity in tropical and temperate ecosystems

·         They serve as insurance policies against the impacts of fishing and other destructive activities.

 In India: 

·         India has a coastline of 8,118 km, with an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million sq km and a continental shelf area of 372,424 km, spread across 9 maritime States and seven Union Territories, including the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep.

·         The important species found in the Indian waters include, Dugongs, Whales, Dolphins, Olive Ridley Turtles, a variety of fishes including the Whale Sharks & other sharks, Giant Groupers, Sea cucumbers, horseshoe crabs, sea shells, soft & hard corals, etc.

·         India has at present following designated Marine Protected Areas:

o   Gulf of Mannar National Park, Tamil Nadu  

o   Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park, Gujarat

o   Gulf of Kutch Marine Sanctuary, Gujarat

o   Malvan (Marine) Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra  

o   Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

o   Gahirmatha Sanctuary, Orissa.

·         In India, all marine protected areas fall under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). It is the nodal agency at the central level and responsible for:

o   Planning, Promotion, Co-ordination and Overseeing the implementation of environmental and forestry programmes (Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project, 2012).

·   At the state level the Department of Forests (under the Ministry of Environment and Forests) acts as the nodal agency for the same.

·   Departments of Fisheries are responsible for managing the fisheries resources in their particular state.

·     The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) deals with the science and technology research of exploitation of ocean resources (living and non-living). 

     Economics: MPAs can help sustain local economies by supporting fisheries and tourism.