Marine Protected Area (or MPA) is a generic term that includes a variety of types of protected areas in the marine environment, some of which are known by other terms. As defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature / World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN/WCPA), and as used in PAME's work, an MPA is:"A clearly defined geographical space recognized, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values."
All Arctic states have legal and policy tools for designating and managing MPAs in the Arctic that offer flexibility with respect to level of protection and management regime. IUCN has developed categories in order to compare protected areas at a global scale, and guidelines for applying these categories.
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| Arctic Protected Areas: Indicator Report |
PAME MPA-network toolbox: Area-based conservation measures and ecological connectivity |
Framework for a Pan-Arctic Network of Marine Protected Areas |
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre.Protected Planet: Arctic presentation from the Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018. The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database on terrestrial and marine protected areas.
It combines protected areas information held by UNEP-WCMC and PAME/CAFF to produce the most comprehensive data set on protected areas for the Arctic.
Click here to see the presentation.