Marine protected areas

The ocean is a major player in the regulation of the world’s climate system. The purpose of the report is to provide information to underpin the outcomes of COP21 and in particular to demonstrate the importance of the role of MPAs in climate change adaptation and mitigation. To do this the report brings together scientific information on how MPAs can help to solve climate change issues in coastal and ocean ecosystems.

This report provides a first comprehensive overview of marine conservation efforts in the European Overseas: In the context of rapid global development in these areas, it takes stock and pinpoints the actions required to improve marine protection and strengthen resilience in these diverse territories and to reconcile this with the opportunities provided by development of the blue economy and the challenges in the face of climate change.

In this publication, several case studies from the African continent illustrate the "nature-based solutions" approach and offer hope that effective solutions to the climate change dilemma can be addressed through local responses that also achieve mutual benefits for biodiversity conservation and community resilience.

The extraction of live coral to burn and produce "white lime" or "chokaa" has a long history in Tanzania, yet in many areas it is believed that this practice has reached unsustainable levels and is considered to be one of the main contributors to reef and forest degradation along the coast. This assessment was developed to describe the size, geographic extent and socioeconomics of the coral mining and lime production industry within the buffer zone of Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park.

This report presents an overview of the workshops and meetings held in the Maldives during the week of 23 - 27 March 2015 as part of the Resilience-based Management theme under IUCN Project REGENERATE. It includes incidental observations made during the meetings and associated site visits that may have relevance to the current and future work under this project.