Ocean protection lagging, and the Pacific holds the key to progress

By Ron Rocky Coloma

The world is falling dangerously behind in its race to protect the ocean.

A new peer-reviewed study released by Dynamic Planet and National Geographic Pristine Seas offers a blunt assessment: to meet the global target of protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, the world must establish 85 new coastal marine protected areas, or MPAs, every single day through the end of the decade.

That amounts to 190,000 new coastal MPAs, plus 300 additional large offshore ones, according to the study published this week in the journal Marine Policy. The pace required is faster than any ocean conservation effort in recorded history.

“We know how to restore the ocean’s incredible power to fuel life on earth, but time is running out,” said Kristin Rechberger, CEO of Dynamic Planet and the study’s lead author. “If we are to meet the global target of conserving 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, the absolute minimum that is required to protect people and the planet from the worst impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and rising food insecurity, 85 MPAs would need to be created daily over six years starting in 2025.”

The study analyzed more than 13,000 existing MPAs and found a massive shortfall between political pledges and on-the-ground action. Today, only 8.3 percent of the ocean is under some form of protection, and just 3 percent is considered fully or highly protected, the level necessary to prevent ecological collapse and ensure food security.

“Highly protected coastal MPAs are the most effective tool to restore marine life and deliver benefits to people, the economy and the climate,” the authors wrote.

The findings arrive ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, scheduled for June 9-13, where world leaders are expected to revisit their biodiversity commitments. Scientists and advocates say the conference is a critical opportunity to address the widening implementation gap and scale up meaningful protections.

“The pace of implementation of marine protected areas is totally inadequate for what the world needs,” said Enric Sala, co-author of the study and founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas. “We’ve had too many conferences full of speeches and good intentions; now we need leadership and real action.”

The 30x30 goal—to protect 30 percent of land and sea by 2030—was adopted in December 2022 at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal. While some progress has been made, the study argues that most nations still lack roadmaps, legal structures or financing strategies to scale MPA coverage effectively.

“Our analysis, which covers over 13,000 MPAs worldwide, quickly revealed how far behind the world really is,” said Juan Mayorga, co-author and marine data scientist at National Geographic Pristine Seas. “The exact number of additional MPAs needed depends on their size and the standards for what counts as truly protected, but the scale of the challenge is undeniable.”

Using spatial datasets from the World Database on Protected Areas, researchers calculated the marine areas currently protected within each country’s exclusive economic zone (12–200 nautical miles) and territorial seas (0–12 nautical miles). Assuming an equal protection target for both, the team then estimated how many additional areas would be needed globally.

The results show that most new MPAs must come from countries with large coastlines and marine jurisdictions, including Indonesia, the United States, Russia and Canada. The most significant shortfalls are in East Asia and the Pacific, where the study estimates 75,000 new coastal MPAs and 102 large offshore MPAs are required. Europe, South Asia and the Coral Triangle follow in scale.

By contrast, a handful of countries such as Australia, Chile, France and the United Kingdom have technically surpassed the 30 percent threshold in their offshore areas, though the study notes that much of this protection exists in distant overseas territories, not in waters near population centers.

The paper also emphasizes quality over quantity. Many existing MPAs offer little or no real protection. In the European Union, more than 80 percent of protected areas lack management plans or allow activities such as bottom trawling, oil exploration or commercial fishing.

“Without more effective protection now, the ocean won’t be able to continue providing for us, especially for coastal communities in the Global South who are already suffering from overfishing and global warming,” Sala said.

The authors argue that small, nearshore MPAs are particularly critical. These areas, which include coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds, contain high biodiversity and directly support local food security, jobs and climate resilience.

To meet the 30x30 target, the paper proposes a new model that rethinks how MPAs are implemented and funded. Currently, most coastal MPAs are created and managed by national governments, often viewed as a financial burden.

Rechberger and her co-authors suggest a business-oriented alternative: treat MPAs as local conservation enterprises. In this model, MPAs would be co-managed by local governments, tourism operators and fishing communities, using sustainable financing and profit-sharing to support long-term enforcement and ecological health.

“Successful examples of profitable coastal MPAs from around the world such as the Chumbe Island Coral Park in Tanzania, and the Misool Marine Reserve in Indonesia, prove that reviving the ocean is also good business,” Rechberger said.

Studies show that every $1 invested in a well-managed MPA can generate up to $10 in economic output within a few years, especially in areas with dive tourism or fisheries recovery.

In Fiji and Belize, community-managed reserves raise funds via dive passes and co-management agreements.

Despite their potential, the authors cite three major roadblocks: a lack of public awareness about the benefits of MPAs, inadequate legal authority for local governments to act and outdated funding models reliant on grants or state budgets.

“We believe the main issue resides in ensuring that the right stakeholders have sufficient information to inspire action,” the authors wrote. “In coastal areas, proponents of MPAs tend to be conservation organizations, marine biologists and ecotourists. In contrast, both commercial and recreational fishers often oppose MPAs, viewing them as a threat to their livelihoods.”

They point to the Philippines as a case study. Thanks to the 1998 Fisheries Code, local governments there can independently create MPAs without federal approval. That policy change has led to more than 1,800 locally managed MPAs — one of the highest densities in the world.

Subscribe to

our digital

monthly edition