Connecting Marine Protected Areas can improve ocean health

According to Pew Trusts,

"The ocean plays an essential role in sustaining life on our planet. Covering nearly three-fourths of the globe, it is home to nearly a quarter of the world’s known species and many more yet to be discovered. It is a source of livelihood for coastal communities and Indigenous peoples, who have successfully conserved the sea’s biodiversity for millennia, using knowledge passed down through generations. And it provides billions of dollars in economic benefits to countless stakeholders.

But harmful human activities and a changing climate are increasingly threatening the ocean’s health. Research shows that large, fully protected marine areas help conserve valuable biodiversity and can reverse many of the detrimental impacts caused by humans.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can also improve fish populations, provide ecological benefits to neighboring ecosystems, safeguard predators, maintain ecosystem stability, and help preserve cultures with close ties to the sea.

Over the past decade, many countries have created large-scale, fully protected MPAs. These efforts are having a positive impact, yet marine biodiversity continues to decline at an unprecedented rate.

Therefore, conservationists— together with local communities, Indigenous peoples, scientists, and government officials— are looking for innovative ways to improve upon MPAs’ success by finding ways to connect and further protect these areas while offering marine life safe passage among them"