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In the field of marine protected areas, an unfortunate reality is that many sites are "paper parks". Existing on paper - in laws and on maps - but failing to provide effective management and enforcement, these sites offer the promise of robust protection without the reality of it. Budget shortfalls, faulty planning, insufficient community support...there are many reasons why an MPA may be a paper park. Overcoming the reasons for failure and steering these sites to a functional state pose big challenges for the MPA community.

In late November, the Australian Government released a draft plan to designate what could be the world's largest marine protected area. Covering 989,842 km², the proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve would be located in Australian waters of the Coral Sea. The MPA would extend from the eastward boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to the edge of the Australian EEZ, where it would border the waters of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia.

The following sites are drawn from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), compiled by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. For reference, the North Pole is 90° N, the Equator is 0°, and each full degree of latitude equals 111 km. The longitudinal projection used was WGS84. Information on each of the MPAs is available at www.protectedplanet.net.

1. Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland