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Global Leaders in Building Effective Marine Protected

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Global Leaders in Building Effective Marine Protected GLOBAL LEADERS IN BUILDING EFFECTIVE MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Marine protected areas (MPAs)—like national parks on land —set aside dedicated areas for conservation to help the ocean thrive, provide jobs, protect coral reefs, rejuvenate marine wildlife & habitats, and feed millions of people. MPAs are one of the most important conservation tools we have. In the past five years there has been a significant upsurge in support for the creation of new MPAs. This is great news for the future health of our oceans, but we need more than ‘paper parks’. The reality is that nearly 60% of MPAs around the world lack the necessary resources, training, and enforcement capacity to be successful. Over the last 20 years, WildAid’s comprehensive approach to MPA enforcement has been proven to help build successful MPAs. In fact, MPAs with strong enforcement capacity perform almost 3 times better than those without. After partnering with WildAid, the Galapagos National Park and Misool Marine Reserve in Indonesia, have seen dramatic improvements in revitalizing coral reefs, shark populations, mantas, nesting sea turtles, whales, and important commercial fisheries. WildAid is working to make the promise of MPAs real. We created the BLUEprint for MPA Success to expand our marine program to new sites, allowing more MPAs to fulfill their conservation potential and for ocean wildlife to recover and flourish. THE CHALLENGE 26.72 MILLION SQ KM 25% of marine mammal, shark and ray species are endangered, TOTAL AREA OF DECLARED MPAs Six of the seven sea turtle species face extinction, Equal to 3.5x the area of the U.S.* Fish used by humans have decreased by half since 1970, 50% of coral reefs, which harbor a quarter of all marine species, have disappeared and are further threatened by climate change. BENEFITS OF MPAs 60% ** MPAs can help to address many of these challenges. If managed OF MPAs ARE NOT EFFECTIVE efectively, they can: Quadruple fish populations, Provide a refuge for endangered species, Increase the resiliency of coral reefs against climate change and other external impacts, WildAid is working to change that, by strengthening MPA Provide coastal communities with vital protein supplies and enforcement worldwide. Well-enforced MPAs achieve income. almost 3x greater conservation benefits. Poorly enforced Well-enforced MPAs MPAs *Contiguous United States- not including Alaska, Hawaii, and other territories. LEARN MORE AT WILDAID.ORG/MARINE OR EMAIL US AT [email protected]. **This statistic refers to implemented MPAs. Currently there are over 15,000 worldwide. BLUEprint FOR MPA SUCCESS MAKING THE PROMISE OF MPAs REAL WildAid’s Marine Protection Program has developed a highly efective, 6-step ‘Blueprint for MPA Success’ tailored for local partners that stops illegal fishing, enforces regulations, allows wildlife recovery, and encourages positive economic opportunity for communities. By the end of the BLUEprint, our sites will have measurable improvement in their Marine Protection System and can act as Regional Leaders, exemplifying successful marine conservation in the region. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Discovery Partnership Enforcement Plan Improvement Mentorship Regional Leader GOAL: Identify GOAL: Conduct a full GOAL: Provide prospective project assessment of the Marine guided mentorship to sites and in-country Protection System and improve enforcement partner organizations. develop a multi-year system efciency enforcement plan. and empower partners to manage it independently. GOAL: Establish a GOAL: Carry out enforcement GOAL: Sites can long-term partnership plan: conduct training and now act as regional agreement with an annual re-assessments, leaders with a in-country organization purchase equipment, engage self-sufcient and begin joint community, track progress, and complete fundraising. and modify plan as needed. enforcement system. PARTNERSHIP & COLLABORATION ARE KEY For 20 years, WildAid’s Marine Program has built successful MPAs through close collaboration with the right in-country partners. Other criteria for success in the BLUEprint includes the following: The site has abundant marine wildlife, unique habitat or valuable fisheries. The primary threats to the site include poaching, illegal fishing, or other enforcement issues. The partner is committed to joint fundraising. The government is committed to making legislative and policy changes, and allocating necessary resources. The site has the core building blocks for efective enforcement: an existing management staf, operational budget, and legal designation for the MPA. TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP, PLEASE EMAIL US AT [email protected]. WILDAID MARINE PROTECTION SYSTEM There are five components necessary for a complete and successful Marine Protection System that will discourage illegal activity Surveillance and and encourage law-abiding behavior. Our Enforcement BLUEprint process strengthens all five elements. By the time a site becomes a Policies and Regional Leader, they will have achieved Consequences measurable improvement throughout the System and will be able to manage it Community MARINE independently. Engagement PROTECTION SYSTEM WildAid is working to make the promise of MPAs real. We created the BLUEprint for MPA Success to expand our marine Consistent program to new sites, allowing more MPAs Funding to fulfill their conservation potential and Training and Mentorship for ocean wildlife to recover and flourish. Surveillance and Enforcement Consistent Funding Poachers will be found and caught. Sites need Protection requires consistent funding. We surveillance systems (such as cameras and radar) develop long-term budgets that streamline operating and patrol resources (such as boats) to find and costs, and create new revenue streams to ensure the apprehend poachers. We tailor each system design, protection system has long-term funding. based on local needs. Policies and Consequences Training and Mentorship Poaching has consequences. We work with Comprehensive Training is essential. Staf must lawyers, judges and governments to strengthen laws understand the system, their responsibilities within it, and ensure meaningful penalties for illegal activities. and how to operate and maintain tools. We provide training, mentorship, and professional development. Community Engagement Poaching hurts the whole community. We integrate fishers, tourism operators, and local people in the protection of marine resources. We train rangers to educate their communities, design awareness campaigns to foster understanding and buy-in, and support community-based management strategies. LEARN MORE AT WILDAID.ORG/MARINE OR EMAIL US AT [email protected]. CASE STUDY: GALAPAGOS MARINE RESERVE HOME TO THE DENSEST SHARK POPULATION IN THE WORLD ABOUT THE SITE The Galapagos Islands are home to nearly 3,000 marine species, many which are found nowhere else on earth. Its rich marine ecosystems support the concentration and reproduction of migratory marine species including humpback whales, sea turtles, giant manta rays, and endangered hammerhead sharks. The islands are a priceless world heritage. In Galapagos, there was once extensive illegal fishing, with an estimated 12,000 sharks poached annually in 2009, and park rangers did not have the skills, tools, or resources to do their job. WildAid partnered with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and Galapagos National Park to change this. OUR IMPACT With the implementation of our program, surveillance systems now monitor 100% of the park, all rangers are fully trained and certified, and successful prosecutions of environmental crimes increased to 84%. The Galapagos now boasts the densest shark population in the world; and although fishing boats surround the reserve, they fear to enter due to the threat of prosecution for illegal entry. The Galapagos National Park is a Regional Leader, sponsoring training workshops in Ecuador, providing mentorship and sharing their best practices for other sites in the region. ZERO HOME 84% reported shark to the world’s largest environmental finning cases in the shark biomass crime prosecution reserve since 2014. thanks to strong rate. enforcement. LEARN MORE AT WILDAID.ORG/MARINE OR EMAIL US AT [email protected]. CASE STUDY: COASTAL ECUADOR HOME TO THE LARGEST REMAINING POPULATION OF OCEANIC MANTAS ABOUT THE SITE The eastern shores of Ecuador’s Pacific coast harbor an amazing diversity of marine life including five species of sea turtles, twenty kinds of whales and dolphins, hammerhead and whale sharks, and the largest remaining population of oceanic mantas in the world. Ecuador’s government made a commitment to protect these waters for both marine biodiversity and the economies of coastal communities, establishing a national network of marine protected areas (MPAs). Timing is of the essence as commercially valuable fish species, which provide food and livelihood for coastal communities, are now becoming scarce due to overfishing, destructive shrimp trawling and degradation of coastal habitats. In 2015, WildAid partnered with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment and five MPAs to replicate our success in the Galapagos and strengthen enforcement of the region. OUR IMPACT We began our work with a comprehensive assessment of coastal Ecuador’s MPA network. We developed enforcement plans for five priority MPAs, developed patrolling strategies to cover 100% of each reserve, acquired patrol equipment and uniforms for each site, and conducted annual trainings for MPA managers and staf. We donated two patrol vessels, an HD surveillance camera, radio
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