What is a Marine Protected Area (MPA)?
An MPA is a coastal or offshore marine area where human activities are managed and regulated by authorities to preserve its ecosystem and cultural resources. Well-managed MPAs can conserve biological diversity, protect fish spawning and nursery habitats, protect shorelines, serve as a platform for scientific research and eco-tourism, improve food security, and enhance the quality of life in surrounding communities.

Why are MPAs important to the Coral Triangle?
The CTI recognizes that MPAs are effective resource management tools. Under its Regional Plan of Action, the CTI aims to place 20 percent of each major marine and coastal habitat in the Coral Triangle under protected status by 2020. Individual MPAs within and between countries will be scaled up and linked to form a connected, resilient and sustainably financed Coral Triangle MPA System.

How does the U.S. Government help establish and strengthen the management of MPAs in the Coral Triangle?
The US Government, through the US CTI Support Program, is supporting the CTI to establish and effectively manage its MPAs through various activities at the regional, national and site-level across the Coral Triangle.

The US CTI Support Program applies an integrated approach across the major CTI thematic areas to achieve results, focusing activities at specific priority geographic sites and linking them across the region through shared learning networks and regional exchanges to advance regional policies and strengthen capacity throughout the Coral Triangle region.

Regional

• Supports a regional collaborative platform that brings together MPA experts, policymakers and practitioners to enable the establishment of a region-wide Coral Triangle MPA System.
• Enhances the capacity of government institutions and local communities in establishing and managing MPAs through tailored training and regional exchange programs.
• Develops and supports learning networks of MPA practitioners, academics and experts at the regional and local level as a means to share and exchange knowledge on MPA management;
• Develops a Coral Triangle Atlas that serves as a consolidated data and information source on national and regional MPA networks for use in Coral Triangle countries’ planning, particularly in determining representation of critical habitat and species within the Coral Triangle MPA System.
• Assists Coral Triangle countries to develop, standardize and adopt a regional MPA management evaluation protocol that includes MPA effectiveness measures.
• Develops a comprehensive and integrated toolkit for marine management that includes tools and curricula for effective management of resilient MPAs, case studies and training curricula for sustainable fisheries, and early action tools for climate change adaptation

National

• Supports the implementation of each country’s national plans of action including establishment and management of national or sub-national MPAs and networks.
• Assists in the development of national and local legislative frameworks to strengthen the enforcement of MPA regulations.
• Provides scientific support to MPA managers in the Coral Triangle through spatial planning and analysis.
• Establishes sustainable financing schemes involving public and private partnerships to engage relevant industries in supporting the Coral Triangle MPA System.

Site-Level

• Strengthens the management and enforcement of MPA regulations in 13 priority sites and 10 integration sites across the region.
• Supports collaboration to mobilize sustainable financing for MPA networks at priority sites.
• Pilots and supports the rollout of the MPA management effectiveness protocols in priority sites.