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Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used globally to conserve marine resources. However, whether many MPAs are being effectively and equitably managed, and how MPA management influences substantive outcomes remain unknown. We developed a global database of management and fish population data (433 and 218 MPAs, respectively) to assess: MPA management processes; the effects of MPAs on fish populations; and relationships between management processes and ecological effects. Here we report that many MPAs failed to meet thresholds for effective and equitable management processes, with widespread shortfalls in staff and financial resources. Although 71% of MPAs positively influenced fish populations, these conservation impacts were highly variable. Staff and budget capacity were the strongest predictors of conservation impact: MPAs with adequate staff capacity had ecological effects 2.9 times greater than MPAs with inadequate capacity. Thus, continued global expansion of MPAs without adequate investment in human and financial capacity is likely to lead to sub-optimal conservation outcomes.
Awareness of human impacts upon global marine biodiversity has spurred the largest expansion in the number and coverage of marine protected areas (MPAs) in history1,2. As part of the 2011 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aichi Targets, 193 countries agreed to "effectively and equitably" manage 10% of coastal and marine areas within marine protected areas and "other effective area-based conservation measures" by 2020 (ref. 3). A 10% conservation target for MPAs has also been included within Goal 14 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)4. Yet despite recent advances towards these coverage targets (currently 4.1% (ref. 2)), the efficacy and equity of many MPAs remain uncertain2; evidence suggests that MPAs often fail to deliver positive social and ecological outcomes5-7.
It is assumed that MPAs that are effectively regulated and actively managed through equitable and inclusive decision-making approaches are more likely to meet ecological and social goals than those that are merely legislated on paper ('paper parks') and those with exclusionary decision-making8-10. However, research linking the efficacy and equity of MPA management processes to conservation outcomes lies mostly in theory and select local-scale case studies11. This is largely due to a lack of a globally representative dataset on MPA management12 and lack of counterfactuals to infer conservation outcomes in the absence of MPAs13,14.
We constructed a global database of...