A marine protected area (MPA) is defined as any area of sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources and managed through legal and other effective means (IUCN 1994).
Referred under several different name: marine reserve, fish sanctuary, marine sanctuary, etc, MPAs are home to important marine life and provide fisheries and biodiversity conservation benefits. MPAs are set-up for the following purposes:
- to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems
- to conserve biodiversity and minimize extinction risk
- to re-establish ecosystem integrity
- to segregate uses to avoid user conflicts, and
- to enhance the productivity of fish and marine invertebrate populations.
Unfortunately, various threats endanger marine resources such as illegal fishing, overfishing, and even mining where siltation and other runoff endanger communities and biodiversity at the coastline.
Marine Protected Area Networks
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