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Marine protected areas

Publication Created 24 Oct 2018 Published 25 Oct 2018

Topics: Biodiversity — Ecosystems , Water and marine environment ,

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Designed to conserve Europe's marine life, marine protected areas are a globally recognised toolfor managing and enhancing our marine ecosystems.

Publication Created 24 Oct 2018 Published 25 Oct 2018

Topics: Biodiversity — Ecosystems , Water and marine environment ,

Briefing No 13/2018

Designed to conserve Europe's marine life, marine protected areas are a globally recognised toolfor managing and enhancing our marine ecosystems.

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Data references

Spatial Analysis of Marine Protected Area Networks in Europe's Seas II, Volume A, 2017 This technical report presents an overview of the spatial distribution of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Europe’s seas established as of 2016 (excluding overseas territories). It represents a rerun and advancement of the spatial statistics and of the coherence analysis run by the European Topic Centre on inland, coastal and marine waters (ETC/ICM) on MPA reported data in 2012 and as such provides insight on the observed changes in European MPAs established in the four year period 2013-2016. The networks of MPAs taken into account in the analysis are those established under the framework of the EU Nature Directives, National designations, and the Regional Sea Conventions as reported in the respective official spatial and tabular databases. The MPA assessment areas are defined by regions and sub-regions referred to in Marine Strategy Framework Directive reporting mechanisms. The statistics are reported in terms of surface area (km2) and relative percentage cover as well as percentage overlap between different networks. This volume contains the general MPA statistics and figures relating to the representativity principle, which is one of the four principles against which MPA networks are evaluated. MPA network analysis with respect to the remaining three principles will be produced in a second volume during the course of 2018.

Figures used

Marine protected areas in Europe's regional seas Marine protected areas (MPAs) are geographically distinct zones for which protection objectives are set. They constitute a globally acknowledged system for safeguarding biodiversity and maintaining marine ecosystem services.

News and articles

EU reaches the Aichi target of protecting ten percent of Europe's seas A total of 10.8 % of the surface of Europe’s seas was designated as marine protected areas by the end of 2016, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment, published today. This means the EU has reached the global Aichi target of protecting at least 10 % of coastal and marine areas by 2020. However, the EEA analysis also shows that the protected area networks are skewed towards coastal waters and do not sufficiently cover the deep sea.

See also

The Natura 2000 protected areas network Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas covering Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, extending across all 28 EU countries, both on land and at sea. The sites within Natura 2000 are designated under the Birds and the Habitats Directives.

An introduction to Europe’s Protected Areas A protected area is a clearly defined geographical space that is recognised as and dedicated to achieving the long-term conservation of nature — with its associated ecosystem services and cultural values — and is managed, through legal or other effective means, to do so. This is the essence of the definition provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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Geographic coverage

Macaronesia , Marine Baltic sea , Marine Black sea , Marine Macaronesian/Atlantic ocean , Marine Mediterranean sea , Marine North sea , Marine North-east Atlantic ocean

Temporal coverage

2012-2016

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/marine-protected-areas or scan the QR code.

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Filed under: ecosystems, environment protection, aichi targets, marine protected areas, marine environment

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