Seminar on “Design of Large Marine Protected Areas: Theory and Practice”

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In recent years, marine protection has gradually become a hot topic in international environmental politics. MPA, as a tool of marine zoning management, has attracted more and more concern and attention. In this context, a seminar on “Design of Large Marine Protected Areas: Theory and Practice” was held on August 27, 2018 by G-Hub and the International Master of Environmental Policy Program of Duke University and Duke Kunshan University. The seminar shared the case study of Antarctic and Yellow Sea ecosystems, and considering the background of climate change, the principles, methods and practices of the construction of large-scale MPAs were discussed. G-hub has complied the report based on the presentations, hoping to promote the learning and exchange among those concerned about marine protection in China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⬇️  PDF (Chinese only)

Publication Date:2019.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In recent years, marine protection has gradually become a hot topic in international environmental politics. Marine protection has been listed not only in the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), but also in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) discussion agenda. In 2017, UN convened the first Ocean Conference to promote the international society to reverse the trend through the nationally determined contribution (NDC). MPA, as a tool of marine zoning management, has attracted more and more concern and attention. Under the pressure of the 2010 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) target of protecting 10% of global marine areas by 2020, the construction of MPAs has increased , including the very large marine protected areas (VLMPA, over 100,000 square kilometers), whether within or beyond the national jurisdiction. In 2020, the next CBD conference will be held in China, which may enhance the global ocean conservation goal.


So far, the Ross Sea Marine Reserve in the Southern Ocean is the largest MPAs in the world, covering an area of 1.55 million square kilometers. Large-scale MPAs are also one of the major issues in the upcoming negotiations of the United Nations agreement on the biodiversity beyond the national jurisdiction.


Compared with most existing MPAs, VLMPAs are not only larger in scale, but also more comprehensive in protection objectives, which leads to some differences in setting objectives and methods between them. In view of the characteristics of large-scale ecosystem protection, IUCN has issued "Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas: Guidelines for Design and Management", which mentions that the large-scale MPAs are not more important than small protected areas, but their needs, challenges and benefits are often different.


On the basis of the existing experience in marine zoning management, this paper proposes a methodology that can technically link scientific research data with policy planning for the zoning management of large-scale marine ecosystems, which is the basic need for the establishment of large-scale ecological red line in China and the participation of international large-scale MPAs management discussions.


In this context, a seminar on "Design of Large Marine Protected Areas: Theory and Practice" was held on August 27, 2018 by G-Hub and the International Master of Environmental Policy Program of Duke University and Duke Kunshan University. The seminar shared the case study of Antarctic and Yellow Sea ecosystems, and considering the background of climate change, the principles, methods and practices of the construction of large-scale MPAs were discussed. G-hub has complied the report based on the presentations, hoping to promote the learning and exchange among those concerned about marine protection in China.