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IUCN MMPA TASK FORCE

Ramsar- Convention on Wetlands of International Importance

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. 

National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)

What is a Marine Protected Area?

Runge, C. A., J. E. M. Watson, S. H. M. Butchart, J. O. Hanson, H. P.  Possingham, and R.  A. Fuller. 2015 . Protected Areas and the Global Conservation of Migratory Birds. Science 350: 1255-1258.

The EBSAs are special areas in the ocean that serve important purposes, in one way or another, to support the healthy functioning of oceans and the many services that it provides. The ocean is under increasing threat from various human activities. The most pressing threats come from overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

Heino M, Kummu M, Makkonen M, Mulligan M, Verburg PH, Jalava M, et al. (2015) Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0138918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138918

In June, 2015 the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the development of an international legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction 

The Pacific Islands Marine Portal provides various information on the status of marine protected areas and much more.

What are we actually protecting in the ocean?

The authors contend in this National Geographic Ocean Views blog that most marine species are not well represented within MPAs and several hundred species are not covered at all.  The blog summarizes their article in Natures's Scientific Reports: