CTI-CFF Scores Breakthrough in Combining Multifaceted Management Principles in MPA Design

A new set of guidelines released on January 19, 2012, has for the first time combined and integrated the principles of fisheries, biodiversity, and climate change to establish effective marine protected area (MPA) networks in the Coral Triangle. Previously, many MPA networks were unsuccessful because they focused solely on one principle or objective.

The new guidelines aim to address this concern by enabling MPA networks to simultaneously achieve fisheries sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. The guidelines are part of a toolkit to be rolled out in 2012 that will aid government, non-government, and community resource managers in promoting sustainable fishing practices, conserving the Coral Triangle’s ecosystem, and achieving the goals of the CTI-CFF Regional and National Plans of Action.

USAID’s Coral Triangle Support Partnership—a consortium of non-government organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International—developed the guidelines. The report can be downloaded from the website via this link.