The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the official repository of terrestrial and marine protected area information. WDPA data is primarily self-reported by countries and official agencies, and it includes basic information, such as the location, area, spatial boundaries, governance type, and management authority, as reported for each site.

The Marine Protection Atlas hosts a complimentary dataset that uses the WDPA as a starting point. We build upon their data by conducting independent, third-party research and assessing MPAs and MPA zones using science-based assessments. These assessments allow us to systematically categorize MPAs by stage of establishment and protection level, two metrics that help us estimate expected conservation outcomes.

The statistics reported by the WDPA and MPAtlas are complimentary, but they can differ because they are presenting the global picture of MPA coverage in different ways. The WDPA calculates its statistics from the MPA data self-reported by countries and includes all MPAs from the time of designation. MPAtlas uses this data as a starting point and builds upon it by providing: 1) third party verification of information, 2) adding stage of establishment and level of protection information using science-based assessments, and 3) a more detailed reporting of MPA coverage. MPAtlas statistics only include implemented MPAs, since this is when an area is actually protected on the water.

MPA assessments are standardized frameworks that define what 'protection' actually means and help us categorize and sort MPAs accordingly. Since all MPAs are different and some terms (e.g. marine reserve) mean different things in different places, these assessments help us estimate the conservation outcomes that can be expected from a given MPA or MPA zone and use clear, consistent terminology to describe that.

The Marine Protection Atlas currently utilizes three complementary tools to assess MPAs - The MPA Guide, the Regulation-Based Classification System (RBCS), and the Blue Park criteria. The developers of these three tools overlap, and they are designed to be complementary.

• The MPA Guide is an overarching framework to assess Level of Protection and Stage of Establishment of any given MPA or zone, and link those to the outcomes that can be expected for biodiversity and human well-being.
• RBCS classifies each individual zone within an MPA is assigned a score based on its regulations, and an MPA index integrates the zone scores into an overall MPA-level score that reflects its quality of protection. The MPA Guide uses the RBCS to inform assessments of Level of Protection, and the Blue Parks criteria uses it calculate the regulations score for its evaluations.
• The Blue Parks criteria were designed by our Marine Conservation Institute team, along with a council of scientists, who reviewed the scientific literature regarding MPA conservation effectiveness and translated it into a clear, globally applicable set of criteria. These criteria identify the area’s value for marine biodiversity, the extent to which protections are fully implemented, the strength of the MPA’s regulations for conservation, rates of compliance and enforcement capacity, the conservation value of its size and design, and its management effectiveness.

You can learn more about the science-based MPA assessments used by the Marine Protection Atlas here.

The MPAtlas team has built a new database and visualization platform that will function as the central repository for science-based MPA quality assessments conducted using the newly published MPA Guide and the Regulation-based Classification System. While we are actively conducting assessments and compiling complete, publishable assessments from partners, these processes require significant time and effort. As a preview of our new platform and features, we are currently displaying an interim, ‘partial assessment’ score which we’ve called, ‘Fishing Protection Level.’ This metric categorizes MPAs based only on the fishing section of the MPA Guide, RBCS, or confirmed no-take status from WDPA. The rest of our data with completed scores will be coming soon – keep an eye out in the coming months!

Fully and highly protected areas are areas of the coastal or marine environment that allow minimal or no extractive or other damaging practices, such as fishing, mining, and oil and gas development. Studies have shown that fully and highly protected areas result in the greatest conservation benefits, while protected areas with less regulations and more human activities afford minimal conservation benefits. At Marine Conservation Institute, we aim to identify, measure, and recognize the MPAs that are most effectively contributing to biodiversity conservation and ocean health. You can learn more about fully and highly protected areas here and the science that supports them here.

MPA assessments are not intended to make a value judgement for any type of MPA. Each MPA presents different challenges and has different goals. For example, some MPAs are located in areas that are more highly populated than others and some sustain communities. That means trade-offs are needed to balance social and conservation benefits. Each MPA is respected for its circumstances and evaluated specifically with biodiversity conservation in mind.

MPA assessments and their application to global MPAs are also very new. RBCS and The MPA Guide are the first efforts to aggregate a comprehensive list of impacts that determine the conservation outcomes of MPAs. An MPA’s current score does not have to be the final answer – rather, we hope this is the beginning of a process. MPA Assessments can help us unpack the reasons for an MPA’s status, uncover larger national or regional trends, and direct additional support to where it’s needed most. We hope that applying these science-based MPA assessments to MPAs across the globe will allow us further refine and expand the Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas) and that, moving forward, the MPAtlas and MPA Assessments will be used as tools for holistic conservation planning that achieves conservation objectives and outcomes.

While some MPAs are made up of a single uniformly-regulated area, many MPAs utilize zoning plans to coordinate competing use patterns, stakeholder groups, and conservation objectives. Zoning plan are developed using a combination of environmental, social, and economic data. MPA zones delineate where particular human activities are and are not allowed within a given MPA, resulting in a spatial separation of different resource uses.

For MPAs with multiple zones, the Marine Protection Atlas team and its partners assess each MPA zone individually. We do this because each zone has unique regulations, which can confer different protection levels and associated conservation benefits. For example, a no-take zone will provide more conservation benefits to an area than a multiple use zone that allows several types of fishing gear to be utilized.

IUCN Protected Area Management Categories are based on management objectives, whereas the protection level categories derived from the science-based assessments used by MPAtlas are based on an MPA's in-force regulations and the impact of associated activities. It’s a matter of intent versus what occurs in practice.

First – thank you!  Users like you who provided updated and corrected information on MPA sites, campaigns, and initiatives are invaluable to our work. You can email us directly at info@mpatlas.org