High-profile international commitments for ocean protection: Empty promises or meaningful progress?

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, this analysis asked: (1) What are the MPA commitments? (2) Who is making them? (3)Have these announcements been followed by action? and (4) Have they contributed significantly to ocean protection?

An historic commitment was made today by Premier Dalton Tagelagi announcing the bold move to commit one hundred percent of the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Territorial Seas to marine conservation in an initiative called “Niue Nukutuluea Multiple-use Marine Park”...This commitment wi