Spillover benefits from the world’s largest fully protected MPA

Previous research has cast doubt on the potential for marine protected areas (MPAs) to provide refuge and fishery spillover benefits for migratory species as most MPAs are small relative to the geographic range of these species. We test for evidence of spillover benefits accruing from the world’s largest fully protected MPA, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Using species-specific data collected by independent fishery observers, we examine changes in catch rates for individual vessels near to and far from the MPA before and after its expansion in 2016.

Assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are ubiquitous in global ocean conservation and play a pivotal role in achieving local, national, and regional area-based conservation targets. Often, such targets are merely met on “paper” and lack the political or managerial resources to produce positive conservation outcomes. Here, we apply the MPA Guide – a framework for assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas – to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), two U.S. territories in the Western Pacific.

Conserving our sea of islands - State of protected and conserved areas in Oceania

Conserving our sea of islands: State of protected and conserved areas in Oceania is a landmark publication, bringing together regional and international experts to prepare the first comprehensive review of the status and issues for protected and conserved areas in the region. The report embodies the spirit of the late scholar Epeli Hau’ofa, who devised the phrase ‘Our Sea of Islands’ to help re-imagine the region as selfdetermined ‘Big Ocean States’ connected to place and each other – ideas that underpin conservation.

Reshaping Natural Resource Management in Papua New Guinea

The growing need for effective tools and new approaches for natural resource management (NRM) is being met by PNG’s NRM Hub initiative, which is already helping to centralise environmental data and make it accessible to stakeholders everywhere. One tool in particular is finding great use  – the Managing Effectiveness Tracking Tool, or METT, a global framework customised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to meet PNG’s unique environment and cultures. 

Beyond the boundaries: How regulation-centered marine protected area information improves ocean protection assessments

Comprehensive, spatially explicit data that include regulatory information are essential for evaluating the level of protection that marine protected areas (MPAs) and other marine managed areas (MMAs) provide to marine life, and to inform progress towards ocean protection targets. An analysis based on the ProtectedSeas database, which includes information on regulated activities, found that 85% of U.S.

Video - National Protected Areas Forum highlights 2021, Papua New Guinea

The aim of the National Protected Areas Forum was to fulfill mandates and strengthen policies to protect the country’s abundant natural assets into the future to benefit all life and future generations. Led by the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Pacific Islands Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas 2021-2025

This new Pacific Islands framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas 2021-2025 was endorsed during the conference and subsequently at the 30th SPREP Meeting by 26 members countries and territories in 2021. It reflects the urgent need for transformative action in response to the multiple accelerating threats, both established and emerging, that are faced by nature and people in the Pacific. It identifies the key regional priorities for action which form the six Strategic Objectives for the Framework.

A Contrast of Criteria for Special Places Important for Biodiversity Outcomes

This paper contrasts seven spatial biodiversity conservation area designations by six different bodies: Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), and the Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) of the Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO); the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) under criteria developed by the IUCN; the Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs) of the International Seabed Authority (ISA); the Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) of the Internatio

Vuri Clan Forest Conservation Area Management Plan - Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands

This Management Plan was prepared by the representatives of the Vuri Clan of Sikipozo Tribe in partnership with the Natural Resources Development Foundation (NRDF), Ecological Solutions Solomon Islands (ESSI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-SI), the Ministry of Forestry and Research (National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens Division) (MoFR-NHBG) and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM).