Global MPA map

The Marine Protection Atlas

integrates science-based assessments that measure progress toward protecting 30% of the global ocean in fully and highly protected areas by 2030.

3%
of the ocean
is fully or highly protected according to The MPA Guide
8.2%
of the ocean
is protected according to WDPA / ProtectedPlanet

The MPA Guide: a framework to achieve global goals for the ocean

The MPA Guide is a groundbreaking science-driven, policy-relevant framework to categorize marine protected areas and link their outcomes for nature and people. The MPA Guide framework is fully integrated into the Marine Protection Atlas platform, allowing users to elucidate how much of the ocean is currently fully to highly protected, highlight where MPAs are not yet implemented on the water, and much more.

The Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas) is building a comprehensive global database of marine protection to identify, monitor, and advocate for fully and highly protected areas. It supports international progress toward effective marine conservation by integrating the latest available data on marine protected areas with science-based assessments that determine their stage of establishment and level of protection.

MPAtlas combines self-reported data submitted by countries to the official World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) with standardized, science-based assessments that categorize MPA zones in terms of expected biodiversity outcomes and conservation benefits.

Enrich

We enrich the WDPA database by adding spatial data and information on management zones within MPAs, which is critical to understanding the impacts of regulations and uses across the site.

Learn more about our methods.

Evaluate

We work with partners to evaluate the stage of establishment and protection level of marine protected areas using science-based, standardized assessments.

Read more about our MPA assessments.

Report

TODO

We create reports and visualizations of global MPA coverage from these data to inform global progress toward marine conservation and highlight the importance of fully and highly protected areas.

View our reports.

MPA Guide assessment of marine protection

The MPA Guide provides a scientific framework for categorizing MPAs using consistent criteria based on establishment stage and protection levels that reflect the conservation benefits they provide. It is intended to motivate more meaningful protection and can be used by governments and MPA planners to better understand how the regulations of their MPAs relate to conservation outcomes. Learn more.

9.3%*

of global ocean area has been assessed using The MPA Guide

Percent of global ocean by MPA Guide protection status:
implemented
10%
20%
30%
unimplemented
zones
area (km2)
% of total marine area
Implemented or actively managed:
453
20,541,475
5.7%
Fully Protected
143
5,341,649
1.5%
Highly Protected
89
5,559,891
1.5%
Lightly Protected
85
666,094
< 1%
Minimally Protected / Incompatible
135
8,925,212
2.5%
Unknown / To Be Determined
1
48,629
< 1%
Designated:
76
6,838,477
1.9%
Unknown / To Be Determined
76
6,838,477
1.9%
Proposed / Committed:*
215
6,358,784
1.8%
Proposed / Committed
215
6,358,784
1.8%
Total Assessed:
744
33,738,736
9.3%
Not Assessed
16,208
2,492,640
< 1%
*The WDPA does not report proposed or committed sites in their official numbers. For this reason, the total area assessed is likely to be larger than the area reported as protected by the WDPA.
Stage of Establishment
  • Actively Managed: Management of the area is ongoing with periodic review and changes made as needed to achieve conservation goals.
  • Implemented: MPA is acknowledged to be "in force" on the water with plans for management activated.
  • Designated: MPA is established / recognized through legal or traditional means, with defined boundaries and clearly stated goals and processes to define allowed uses and associated regulations or rules to control impacts.
  • Proposed / Committed: The intent to create an MPA is publicly and formally announced.
Level of Protection
  • Fully Protected: No extractive or destructive activities are allowed; all abatable impacts are minimized.
  • Highly Protected: Only light extractive activities are allowed, with all other abatable impacts minimized.
  • Lightly Protected: Some protection exists but moderate to significant extraction and impacts are allowed.
  • Minimally Protected / Incompatible: Extensive extraction and other impacts are allowed, but the site may provide some conservation benefit to the area.

Largest marine protected areas

89%
of global marine protected area is in the 100 largest marine protected areas.
36%
of the 100 largest marine protected areas is in implemented fully / highly protected areas.
11%
of global marine protected area is in over 18,000 smaller marine protected areas.

Top 10 MPAs with the
largest Fully or Highly
protected area

1
Marine Protected Area (CCAMLR within the High Seas
1,931,766 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
2
Marine National Monument within United States
1,508,721 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
3
1,265,728 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
4
Marine Protected Area within Pitcairn
836,092 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
5
687,200 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
6
National Marine Sanctuary within Palau
477,148 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
7
465,845 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
8
Marine Park within Australia
445,315 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
9
443,571 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area
10
Protected Area within Kiribati
397,569 km2 in fully / highly protected marine area

Blue Parks

Blue Parks aim to unite a global ocean refuge system of effective MPAs that covers 30% of the ocean to safeguard marine biodiversity. The Blue Park Criteria are science-based standards for conservation effectiveness, which provide blueprints for effective MPAs and a framework for evaluating the biodiversity benefits of MPAs. By awarding MPAs that meet the Blue Park Criteria, the Blue Parks initiative incentivizes and accelerates effective marine protection.

Learn more about Blue Parks.

27

marine protected areas have received Blue Park Awards.

These areas cover roughly 11% of the total marine protected area in the world.

Blue Parks criteria:

Blue Parks criteria image
Blue Parks map

New Blue Parks in 2023

Three marine protected areas (MPAs) won prestigious Blue Park Awards for exceptional marine wildlife conservation at the 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress (IMPAC5) in 2023. Pitcairn Islands Marine Protected Area (Pitcairn Islands, UK), Cordillera de Coiba Managed Resources Area (Panama), and Tupinambás Ecological Station & Alcatrazes Archipelago Wildlife Refuge (Brazil) join a growing network of 27 awarded Blue Parks around the global ocean that have met the highest science-based standards for conservation effectiveness. The three new Blue Parks have a total area of 910,516 sq. km (351,552 sq. mi.). Their addition brings the Blue Park systems to a total of 2,744,687 sq. km (1,059,730 sq. mi) of ocean effectively protected in the waters of 22 countries.

The Marine Protection Atlas is made possible through the generous support from:

Arcadia Fund logo
Dona Bertarelli Philanthropy logo
Oceans5 logo
Winslow Foundation logo
Packard Foundation logo

It was created by the Marine Conservation Institute in partnership with Astute Spruce, LLC.

Please support the work of the Marine Protection Atlas: the only comprehensive database that identifies and tracks fully and highly protected MPAs throughout the world.

Contact Uslast updated: 2024-02-20© 2023 Marine Conservation Institute