MPA Guide

The MPA Guide is a science-based tool to identify different types of MPAs and connect these types of MPAs with the outcomes they are expected to achieve.

The MPA Guide consists of four elements:

• Stage of Establishment
• Level of Protection
• Enabling Conditions
• Outcomes

The MPA Guide links these elements to clarify what social and ecological Outcomes can be expected from an MPA at a particular Stage and Level, assuming the Enabling Conditions are in place.

With this complete package, The MPA Guide helps illuminate what protection we have and what is still needed to meet global to local goals. This framework provides the tools to design and update MPAs for effective protection.

The scientific paper The MPA Guide: A framework to achieve global goals for the ocean is published in Science and available here: https://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/sci...

For more information about The MPA Guide, visit https://mpa-guide.protectedplanet.net

Sharks over a healthy coral reef in Millennium Atoll in the Southern Line Islands, Kiribati.
Photo: Enric Sala, National Geographic Pristine Seas.