These recent articles on MPA-related science and policy are all free to access.

Article:Effective Public Participation is Fundamental for Marine Conservation – Lessons from a Large-Scale MPA”, Coastal Management 45, 470 – 486 (2017)

Finding: The Representative Areas Program (RAP) was a key component of the widely acclaimed rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and although completed in 2003, many lessons learned are still relevant today. This paper provides an analysis of the comprehensive public participation program that significantly influenced the final planning outcome, and discusses 25 lessons from it.


Article:Measuring the extent of overlaps in protected area designations”, PLOS ONE 12, e0188681 (2017)

Finding: Many areas are protected by more than one legal instrument, which can result in a lack of clarity around governance and management regimes. This study finds that almost a quarter of the world’s protected area network (terrestrial and marine) is protected through more than one designation.


Article:Ecosystem services in European protected areas: Ambiguity in the views of scientists and managers?”, PLOS ONE 12, e0187143 (2017)

Finding: This study of European protected areas (terrestrial and marine) found that the perception of ecosystem services – and threats to those services – differed significantly between scientists and managers. The study recommends finding ways to harmonize those differences so that ecosystem services are better incorporated in management plans.

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