Publication Abstract

The role of marine protected areas in marine environmental management

S. Jennings

Protected areas are widely recommended as tools to support the achievement of management objectives that range from preservation to sustainable use. However, management objectives have been set at many scales, from the local to regional and global, and objectives are not always compatible within and among scales. This suggests that science could play a stronger role in supporting the selection of objectives, by assessing whether objectives are measurable, achievable or compatible and by predicting the effects of the combinations of management tools, including protected areas, that might be used to meet them. Protected areas that meet local management objectives may not contribute to meeting objectives at larger scales, and these incompatibilities need to be understood and managed rather than ignored. I suggest how this might be done and how protected areas could be embedded more effectively in existing management systems.

Reference

S. Jennings (2009) The role of marine protected areas in marine environmental management. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66; 16-21