Protected area management

World Heritage properties are some of the most unique places on our planet because of the range of outstanding and unique natural or cultural features and values that they contain. Like anything precious these places need to be protected and cared for responsibly. The purpose of this manual is to help those responsible for managing World Heritage properties with natural values by suggesting what they need to think about when producing a management plan for their property.

Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPAs), in their variety of forms and scales, are seen as one of the solutions to threats facing the coastal and marine environment, while contributing to the long-term sustainable livelihoods of coastal communities, their cultures and their economies.

Extensively illustrated with maps, color photographs, and graphics, this state-of-the-art reference offers a comprehensive and authoritative status report on the world's 100,000 parks, nature reserves, and other land and marine areas currently designated as protected areas. Now covering over 12 percent of the Earth's land surface, protected areas are the great strongholds of biodiversity and landscape conservation.

This Plan of Action has been developed by WCPA/Marine and partners around the world as a result of an extensive consultation process. It describes the added value that WCPA/Marine brings to the global community working on MPAs and identifies the renewed need for urgent action to protect oceans and seas. It is intended to help bridge the gap between existing work on MPAs, and what is needed in order to put in place effective and lasting networks of MPAs throughout the world.