Indicator Code: MPAEEZ
Objective: Ecosystem Vitality
Policy Category: Biodiversity and Habitat
Subcategory: Biodiversity and Habitat
Indicator Short Name: Marine Protected Areas
Indicator Full Name: Percentage of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Area that is Protected
Indicator Description: Home to mangroves, sea grasses, coral reefs, and other critical habitats, coastal areas are vital to marine biodiversity. There is growing recognition of the need to protect coastal and marine resources from over-fishing and other activities the damage habitat. This indicator represents a simple assessment of the percent area in each country’s exclusive economic zone that is protected. The target is set to 10%, the same as for terrestrial protected areas.
Units: Percentage area
Country Coverage: 132
Reference Year: 2006
Target: 10%
Target Source: Convention on Biological
Short Source: Suzanne Mondoux and Louisa Wood, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia
Source: Data compiled by Suzanne Mondoux and Louisa Wood, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia. Original data developed in a collaboration between the Sea Around Us Project, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the World Conservation Union – World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA).
Source URL: http://www.mpaglobal.org/
Methodology: Protected areas were coded as marine if they principally cover the marine portion of the coastal zone. The area of marine protected areas was tallied and divided by the total area in a country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). For countries with more than one EEZ, the MPA area and EEZ areas were summed, and then the total area protected was divided by the combined total EEZ area for the country.
Additional Citations: Wood, L. J. (2007). MPA Global: A database of the world’s marine protected areas. Sea Around Us Project, UNEP-WCMC & WWF. Available at http://www.mpaglobal.org