About the MPAtlas

What is the MPAtlas
The Marine Conservation Institute in partnership with the Waitt Foundation has developed an online digital atlas that assembles key information on marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world.

Importance:

Overfishing is increasingly common and marine biodiversity is declining. MPAs are an essential tool to halt and reverse the oceans’ downward trajectory. Scientists have repeatedly shown that MPAs rapidly increase the biomass and diversity of species in both tropical and temperate ecosystems. These benefits have motivated a number of nations to set goals for establishing MPAs that cover a portion of their ocean territories, and international bodies are working to establish MPAs on the high seas.

Currently, only about 1.6% of the world’s oceans are in MPAs; far less than the 12% of land area that is protected. Of the world’s MPAs, only a small fraction less than half are in areas designated as no-take marine reserves, places where fishing is prohibited and all marine life is protected from exploitation. The vast majority of the ocean area that is in no-take MPAs exists in a few very large areas that are far from coasts and not necessarily representative of the oceans’ biodiversity. Many marine ecosystems are currently not protected and others are vastly underrepresented in existing MPAs. Clearly we have a long way to go in order to adequately protect ocean life and ensure abundance in the years, decades and centuries to come.

Project Description:

The MPAtlas is an interactive online compilation of key information on the world’s MPAs. Atlas users will be able to locate and learn about individual MPAs. Additionally, the project will compile and synthesize information to help users understand the level of protection, biodiversity, biomass, size and management authorities of MPAs. The website will describe country- and regional-level progress towards implementing MPAs and allow users to obtain information on the distribution of MPAs relative to social, political, and ecological contexts.

The MPAtlas will benefit students and educators looking for general information as well as managers and scientists needing up-to-date facts and analysis. This site will engage user groups, managers and conservationists, and provide needed information and tools to the MPA community that will help advance marine conservation, and facilitate analysis of future MPA opportunities. We welcome your participation and comments as we further develop this tool.

i.	Overview of the Information contained in the MPAtlas ii. Total MPA coverage (%, square miles, etc.) iii. Take home message iv. What we are doing and why

How to use MPAtlas
i.	Who it is for 1.	Who can edit 2.	What can be edited ii. What it can do iii. Tutorial

The Database
i.	What is included in the database, what is not, and why ii. Where the information came from, with sources iii. Limitations of the database iv. How to improve the database (register and update pages) v.	Metadata (sources and download) World Database on Protected Areas United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Marine Protected Areas Center List sources

Protection Level
i.	Definition of the protection level ii. Explanation of why this is important iii. How they are calculated iv. Link to Protection Level data

Effectiveness Rating
i.	Explanation of why this is important ii. How this is calculated iii. What the Effectiveness Rating means iv. Link to Effectiveness Rating data

Candidate MPAs
i.	What is a candidate MPA ii. Why candidate MPAs are included iii. Why we need more MPAs iv. How a new MPA is created v.	List of sites, for each site: 1.	Site information and justification for why they should be protected 2.	How close they are to protection 3.	What needs to be done to get them protected 4.	Who is working on it 5.	Who is the target (who can create the MPA and by what means) 6.	What you can do (Take Action) if applicable vi. How to add a candidate MPA (register and edit)

Register to make updates to the MPAtlas
i.	Who can register ii. How to register iii. How to make updates to an MPA page iv. How to make updates to MPApedia v.	Managers survey