Cetacean habitat MPAs with management plans

The best management plans for marine protected areas

Every MPA needs a management plan. The best management plans are combination "road maps", business plans, and conservation plans, devised by MPA management bodies with local stakeholders including government and business leaders, conservation groups and other NGOs, marine tourism companies, fishermen, researchers and members of local communities. The management plan sets out the species and ecosystems to be protected, the research and educational programs, the zoning of the area to enable and restrict certain uses and the degree of protection for each, the management and enforcement regime, and the schedule for periodic monitoring and review. A management plan should elaborate its conservation goals and assign tasks to those involved. As with a business plan, it should have a budget and specify how funds will be appropriated and spent. Finally, a management plan must say how it will address threats to species and ecosystems, not only in the MPA but in the overall region as part of ecosystem-based management.